mask storage

[Norman Watts <Norman_Watts@zzzzzzz>]

Bill,

Regarding dust masks and their storage. I'm no authority on masks but
I doubt it is necessary to store dust masks in an airtight plastic
bag. Rather the opposite. There is a lot to mask technology but
essentially there are chemical masks and particulate masks. Masks for
chemicals can have charcoal filter elements where the molecules
(usually organic ones, and this doesn't mean they are grown on
manure) can be adsorbed onto the huge surface of the activated
charcoal. To extend the longevity of the charcoal element it might
help to store it in a plastic bag so that it doesn't keep on taking
up various compounds from the air around it (e.g. from paint fumes,
engine exhaust, etc) while it is not in use for days and weeks.

A dust mask would be a particulate filter, where the particles are on
the order of several microns (10-6 meter) rather than angstroms
(10-10 meter). That is a huge difference in size. Particulates act on
cells in a very different way from individual molecules. A dust
filter is essentially a screen or matrix that the particles don't get
through, but it doesn't have to have a chemical adsorptive property.

If you have a dust mask that is damp with perspiration or
condensation from your breath, you could just let it hang out to dry
in an area of normal cleanliness (outdoors or in your house) until
its dry. Then, if you want to keep it clean, store it in a shoe box,
cloth sack, or whatever. If you want to dry it even further  you
could store it alongside some drying agent such as Drierite. Sealing
a damp mask in plastic zip-lock bag and leaving it there would just
give you a nasty mask, and would probably actually invite health
problems. Just my thoughts.

n