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1.1.2 GENERAL WARNINGS
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1. Do not use this Operating and Maintenance Instruction
Manual if you have converted this respirator to a supplied
air respirator, use the Instructions for Use that accompanied
the Airline Accessory.
2. Failure to properly select the appropriate respirator for all
the contaminants and their concentrations against which
protection is required, or a failure to follow North’s instruc-
tions and warnings, may result in exposure to the haz-
ardous materials, exposing the user to the risk of serious
injury, illness or death.
3. Do
not
use this respirator for protection against air contami-
nants other than those listed on the air-purifying elements
and on the NIOSH Approval Label which is supplied with
each respirator and/or replacement air-purifying element.
4. Do
not
use this respirator under any of the following condi-
tions:
• While performing or observing abrasive blasting (sand-
blasting) operations.
• For fire fighting.
• In oxygen-deficient atmospheres (any atmosphere having
less than 19.5 % oxygen by volume at sea level).
• In atmospheres where the concentrations of toxic conta-
minants are unknown, or are Immediately Dangerous to
Life or Health (IDLH). An IDLH atmosphere is any atmos-
phere which has a concentration of any toxic, corrosive
or asphyxiant substance that poses an immediate threat
to life, which would cause irreversible debilitating effects
on health, or which would interfere with the ability to
escape from a dangerous atmosphere.
• In atmospheres where the concentration of the contami-
nant exceeds the respirator’s Maximum Use Concentra-
tion. That is where the concentration of the contaminant
exceeds:
i.
100 times the contaminant’s permissible exposure
limit (the maximum permissible 8-hour time weighted
average (TWA) concentration) established by appli-
cable OSHA or other government regulations, or by
NIOSH or ACGIH publications; or
ii.
any lower Maximum Use Concentration for that con-
taminant (when using a full facepiece air purifying
respirator) established by such OSHA or other gov-
ernment regulations (as in the case of asbestos) or
NIOSH or ACGIH publications, or shown in the conta-
minant’s Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), in a
pesticide label, or in the current edition of the North
Respirator Selection Guide.
• In poorly ventilated areas, or confined spaces such as
tanks, small rooms, tunnels or vessels, unless the con-
fined space is well ventilated and the concentration of
toxic contaminants is known to be, and will continue to
be, below the Maximum Use Concentration recommend-
ed for the respirator.
• In atmospheres containing oil unless a NIOSH “R” or “P”
class filter is used.
• For protection against gas or vapor contaminants unless
the air-purifying elements are equipped with End-of-
Service-Life-Indicators for that contaminant; or a car-
tridge change schedule is implemented based on objec-
tive service data.
• For protection against gases or vapors which generate
high heats of reaction with the sorbent material in the
cartridge.
• For protection against gases or vapors which are not
adsorbed by the sorbent material in the cartridge (e.g.
Methanol).
5. Do
not
use any air purifying respirator when conditions
prevent a good facepiece-to-face seal. Examples of such
conditions are:
i.
the growth of beards, bangs or sideburns which will
pass between the facepiece sealing area and the
face;
ii.
the use of spectacles or other devices which interfere
with the respirator;
iii. the use of head or face coverings which contain
materials which will pass between the facepiece
sealing area and the face; and
iv. missing teeth or dentures, facial deformities or deep
scars.
6. Immediately leave the contaminated area if:
i.
breathing becomes difficult;
ii.
dizziness or other distress occurs;
iii. you smell, taste or sense irritation from the
contaminants;
iv. the air purifying element is equipped with an End-of-
Service-Life Indicator which has changed color to
indicate expiration, or
v.
the respirator becomes damaged.
7. Any air purifying respirator, when properly selected and fitted,
will significantly reduce,
but will not completely eliminate
, the
breathing of contaminant(s) by the respirator wearer. When
working in atmospheres containing substances which are
reported to cause cancer in amounts below their permissi-
ble exposure limit, will obtain better protection from a con-
tinuous flow or positive pressure air supplied respirator, or
self-contained breathing apparatus (an SCBA).
8. This respirator does
not
provide protection to exposed
areas of the body. If the contaminated atmosphere con-
tains vapors, gases or airborne particulate matter which
may either irritate or burn the skin, or can be absorbed by
the body through penetration of the skin, the use of special-
ized hand and/or body coverings may also be required for
protection.
WARNINGS
