www.thesafetymag.com/ca 21
going to see more and more companies
in this space for a long time.
"I do believe that the use of daily or
reusable face masks for the general
public is not going to go away any time
soon," says Richardson. "It's going to be
more of the norm to see Canadians
wearing face coverings for any reason
for a long time into the future.
"My hope is that most industries
which were affected in some way by the
pandemic will keep fit testing up to
date," she says. Furthermore, "there
needs to be more rigour around these
workplaces knowing what they have,
and workers knowing what they need to
wear, and wearing the right product."
This also means employers being
prepared with the proper amount of
you purchase through one of [3M's]
authorized distributors. If you're
uncertain, call the 3M fraud hotline,"
says Richardson.
What should users look out for in a
good respirator? For filtering face piece
respirators, they need to be "tight
fitting… It has to be a tight fit so that it
can actually help filter your air," she
says, but you also "want it to be
comfortable to keep it on as long as you
need to."
The only real way to figure out if an
N95 is able to properly protect the user
is by doing a fit test.
"What's difficult is that respirators
are regulated through federal and
provincial work laws — fit tests may not
be available for general public; it's really
up to the employer," says Richardson.
Many respirators are one-size-fits-all,
although a number are also available in
different sizes. Nevertheless, you won't
know which size to use unless you do a
fit test. And, indeed, if an employer or
worker changes the make, model or size
of their respirator, then they will have to
be fit tested again.
COVID-19 has not just impacted
industry, it has also impacted society
and how we use face coverings in
different situations, says Richardson.
"There has been a huge influx of
different manufacturers," says
Richardson. "I don't think that will
change any time soon. I think we are
"[COVID-19] created an
unprecedented demand for
respirators, not only for health-
care workers but also the general
population. COVID has changed us
forever."
Claudio Dente, Dentec Safety Specialists Inc.
PPE to meet the needs of their
workforce.
Dentec
For many companies that already
specialize in respiratory protection, the
pandemic has been business as usual
— with a twist being that demand for
respirators has heightened to a
dizzying degree.
"[COVID-19] created an
unprecedented demand for respirators,
not only for health-care workers but
also the general population. COVID has
changed us forever. We will be using
respirator protection in more
applications than they have been used
in," says Claudio Dente, president of
Dentec Safety Specialists Inc.
RESPIRATORY PROTECTION,
A LUCRATIVE MARKET
Source: Grand View Research
The global respiratory protective
equipment market (RPE) size is
estimated to reach US$13.8 billion
by 2027 (around $17.5 billion)
With an annual growth rate of
around 9.4 per cent, there is
notably a surge in demand for
N95 respirators
Demand factors include COVID-19
and pandemic PPE but also
concerns around radioactive and
toxic air polluants
The market for RPE in the
construction industry is expected
to reach US$1.61 billion by 2027
due to concerns around silica
dust and asbestos
