Optrel Swiss Air—Safety has Never Been this Comfortable

Meet the Optrel Swiss Air: a respiratory protection system that brings clean breathing air into your environment and lets you breathe freely. Swiss Air features a ventilated half-mask made of fire-resistant material that covers the mouth and nose area completely.

Swiss Air provides respiratory protection of the highest class and ensures no passage for aerosols, smoke, particles, or viruses. With its cutting-edge breath-assisting technology and ultra-flat and light backpack design, Swiss air is the most versatile Optrel respiratory protection system suited for various industries, especially those in high-risk industries such as agriculture, construction, manufacturing, medicine, and welding.

Some of the common tasks in these industries that expose workers to hazards include:

• Dust when cutting, grinding, crushing, and polishing concrete, pavers, bricks, tiles, and engineered stone

• Asbestos-containing materials

• Hazardous fumes from welding metals

• Exhaust fumes from power tools

• Chemicals such as pesticides, paints, and adhesives

• Fumes from fumigation processes

• Microorganisms

• Fumes from medical products and pharmaceuticals

• Silica Dust from disposing of/cleaning up

Repeated exposure to these hazards may result in occupational lung diseases, which may be chronic, acute, sub-acute, and infectious, malignant, or nonmalignant. Some of the most common occupational lung diseases include work-related asthma, coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, silicosis, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), asbestosis, and mesothelioma.

It’s no secret that workers in the welding industry are often exposed to welding fume and gases, which can negatively affect lung health and even potentially cause severe lung diseases and cancer. Welding fume comprises various and complex mixtures of gases and particulates produced when metals are heated above boiling point. This fume is made up of minute particles from mostly consumable products.

In 2017, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)—the World Health Organisation’s specialised cancer agency—reclassified welding fumes as Group 1 carcinogens (carcinogenic to humans), from its previous classification as Group 2B carcinogens (possibly carcinogenic to humans) in 1989. The IARC also specifically classified UVR from arc welding as a Group 1 carcinogen.

As Group 1-classified carcinogens, welding fumes and UV radiation in the welding arc can cause cancer to exposed humans, specifically, workers in the welding industry. Exposure to these increases one’s risk of developing various types of cancers, including lung cancer and melanoma of the eye.

This updated classification solidifies the need for a respiratory protection system that limits and prevents worker exposure to various hazards, most especially dangerous carcinogens.

Equipped with a TH3 filter unit, Swiss Air meets the highest requirements for professional respiratory protection systems—filtering out 99.8% of all harmful particles, aerosols, vapours, smoke, or even viruses. It also features a shoulder harness for ergonomically perfect weight distribution, an infinitely adjustable headband, and a Y-hose with an adjustable neck strap and flexible hose elements, keeping the welder comfortable.

Equipped with high-tech fabric and a freely adjustable headband, Swiss Air eliminates the need for fit tests, making it the most versatile Optrel respiratory protection system available.

For more information, visit smenco.com.au

This editorial was supplied by SMENCO.