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Facepieces may be defective
Scott® has issued a user’s warning for respirators with Scott-O-Vista® full facepieces. The facepiece is used on Scott Air-Pak® 4.5 and 2.2 self-contained breathing apparatus, Scott Model 65 full facepiece twin cartridge respirators, certain Scott gas masks, and some models of Type “C” and combination SCBA and Type “C” hoseline respirators.
Scott found that in some cases the rubber faceseal had partially separated from the clear plastic lens on some Scott-O-Vista facepieces. A section of the clear plastic lens could then slip out of the groove in the rubber seal, resulting in exposure to the atmosphere.
Scott advises users to take the following actions immediately to reduce the possibility of such exposure:
- Inspect facepieces —with neck strap adjusted to full outward position, fold harness out of the way, grasp plastic lens in one hand, grasp rubber seal and pull outward from lens with other hand, Tug all around rubber seal to test all parts where lens meets rubber.
- Check facepieces before each use to ensure that the faceseal is not separated from the lens, and do not remove during use.
- Do not pull on rubber of facepiece when facepiece is warm (above 110°F).
- Remove all defective facepieces from service immediately. For further information. call 1-800-AIR-PAKS (in New York state or outside the U.S., call 716686-1740).
An ounce of prevention against Hepatitis B
Because of the risk of exposure to Hepatitis B, the Portland, Oregon Bureau of Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Services began offering free vaccinations to its line employees in 1988.
“There is a high incidence of Hepatitis B in pre-hospital settings, so there is a good chance that a lot of the victims first responders deal with have the virus. And if it’s a situation where there is blood all over, the emergency responders need to be vaccinated,” explains Elizabeth Reed, R.N., occupational health coordinator for Portland’s Bureau of Fire.
This past year 372 of the 609 line employees chose to participate in the city-funded program, which consists of three injections and a follow-up blood test to confirm that the participants developed immunity (only 10 percent did not). According to Reed, only about half of the employees participated because some didn’t realize the need, while others consulted their personal physicians and were told it wasn’t necessary. “But through education and a new standardized method of reporting, evaluating, and treating such exposures, people are more aware of the risks,” Reed says.
Under the new reporting system, when a first responder is exposed to the virus while on a call, he reports the incident to a specific lieutenant who will conduct an initial evaluation. The lieutenant contacts Reed, and if she decides the exposed responder needs a test or a shot, she contacts the hospital and sends him there. Then she sends the exposed person an information packet explaining the risks involved in exposure and the reasons for the procedures she followed. Of course if the responder has been vaccinated, Reed adds, there is no need to worry about exposure.
Reed says that many departments are unaware of the importance of conducting follow-up blood tests: “Having the series of shots doesn’t guarantee safety. Approximately 10 percent to 15 percent of immunizations don’t take. A blood test will reveal which ones did.” She says cost may be a factor, since the blood test might not be included in the price of the shots.
However, Reed expects more participants in the immunization program this fall. She has been appearing on closedcircuit television and lecturing on related safety issues in hopes of making the public more aware of exposure risks. “Responders have to wear gloves and safety glasses and cover any breaks in the skin,” she says. “Last year we spent S25,000 on gloves alone.”
There were no reported cases of Hepatitis B among Portland’s first responders in 1988, according to Reed. “We possibly could have had cases if we didn’t have procedures to guard against exposure,” she concludes.
Firefighter fatalities reach sevenyear high
There were 131 line-of-duty firefighter fatalities in the U.S. in 1988, according to an annual study by the National Fire Protection Association. Of the 131, 49 were career firefighters and 82 were volunteers. The totals were the highest in the past seven years.
While the career firefighter fatalities declined 27 percent since the NFPA began tracking such figures in 1979, the volunteer fatalities have increased 45 percent. The increase can be attributed in part to careless driving while responding to a call, according to Rita Fahy, manager of fire databases and systems for the NFPA, who worked on the study. “When the volunteers’ adrenalin is pumping and they are in a hurry to get to the scene and help, being careful on the ride there is not foremost on their minds,” she explains. Fahy considers it a training issue: “They should be taught that it’s better to be careful and get there than not to arrive at all.”
In fact, 34 firefighters were killed in apparatus and motor vehicle accidents in 1988. Of those, 29 were occupants of the vehicles and five were struck by vehicles. More than a fourth of these deaths occurred while responding to or returning from alarms.
However, the majority of fatalities were the result of heart attacks—as was the case every year except for 1984. Of the 52 heart attack victims last year, at least eight had a history of heart problems, two had severe heart disease, four suffered from hypertension, and four were diabetic. “We took a closer look at heart attacks a few years ago,” Fahy explains. “We found that the majority of firefighters who died of them had earlier bypass surgery or a history of heart problems and shouldn’t have been fighting fires.” Other fatal injuries included death by internal trauma (37 firefighters), asphyxiation (13), and crushing (14).
This year’s study took a closer look at firefighters killed while responding to alarms. From 1979 to 1988, 334 firefighters died on the way to or back from a call. Such incidents account for slightly more than one-fourth of all fatalities.
Fahy expressed concern that the number of fatalities has not been brought down over the years. She says that departments have to address the health and safety issues in order to reduce the number of vehicle accidents, injuries, and deaths.
Security Council resolves to mark explosives
The U.N. Security Council recently adopted a resolution on the marking of plastic and sheet explosives for the purpose of detection.
Resolution 635 (1989) was prompted by last year’s destruction of Pan American flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, when terrorists smuggled a high-performance plastic explosive on board that killed 270 passengers. The British government took the initiative to call for the resolution in cooperation with Czechoslovakia, a primary producer of explosives for peaceful purposes.
“The resolution calls for the manufacturers of such explosives to give them a telltale sign so they can be easily detected by equipment at airports,” explains John J.A. Birch, C.M.G., ambassador and deputy permanent representative of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the U.N. The explosives will give off a harmless vapor that dogs or equipment can detect easily.
Currently the International Civil Aviation Organization in Montreal, which regulates all international air traffic, safety, and airplane procedures, is gathering experts to devise a legal document for explosives manufacturers to sign agreeing to mark explosives.
Birch doesn’t anticipate any resistance on the part of manufacturers to this new resolution. He says that manufacturers, mainly Czechoslovakia, are worried about preserving their good name: They don’t want to be responsible for producing explosives that terrorists use. Birch hopes the new resolution will “make life difficult for terrorists.”