THERE ARE 3 MAIN CATEGORIES OF RESPIRATORY HAZARDS:
1. OXYGEN DEFICIENCY
If the oxygen concentration is less than 17%, isolating RPE is used. Filtering devices are designed to protect against harmful particles, gases and vapors and their combinations in the ambient air, provided that it contains oxygen of at least 17%.
2. PARTICLES
Aerosols are the smallest particles (solid, liquid, organic, inorganic) suspended in the atmosphere: dust, metal fumes, fibers, bacteria, viruses, etc.
3. GASES AND VAPORS
Gases and vapors are substances that are present in the air in the form of individual molecules. You can smell both, but they have different nature of formation. Gas is a substance with a temperature above the boiling point. Vapor is gas that is formed by the evaporation of a solid or liquid substance.