Don’t we inhale huge amounts of poison when breathing through the gas mask?
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The poison particles are bigger than the oxygen and carbon dioxide and nitrogen particles you breathe in. All the bigger particles get trapped or repelled off the filter while the regular air passes through.
There are generally a couple things in play
1. Filtering – this deals with big particles like dust and soot but can also be made to deal with things like bacterial contaminants
2. Adsorption or neutralization – You can’t filter out chemical hazards like chlorine gas so you need to either chemically neutralize it or get it to stick to something. Activated charcoal is often used for the second job since its been loosened up to have a huge surface area so it can hold onto a lot of the stickier stuff coming through so it is “adsorbed” onto the surface. Chemical neutralization requires a specific mask for a specific gas with the right reactants in the canister.
Mask filters are labeled for what they protect against. Almost all have some degree of filtering at the front and protect against particulates but a mask meant to protect against mercury likely won’t happen to protect against hydrogen sulfide because they need different stuff
Respirators are fitted with cartridges that are specific to certain toxins. You need to have some idea what is in the environment you’re entering so you know which cartridge to equip.
Some masks have filters in them, others like the ones firefighters use have bottles of clean air attached. Filters are made for types of chemicals, like acid, chlorine, or organics. There isn’t a one-type-fits-all filter for chemicals. If there is low oxygen or other gases that can’t be filtered, like carbon monoxide, then the air bottles are used. The masks form a seal on the face. When breathing in, the low pressure holds a seal in the mask shut. When breathing out the pressure allows the seal to open to let breath escape.
gas mask has a filtrate paper that remove toxic particle from the poison gas.
You have to deal with wearing it for long period of time if you work as a hazmat worker, and since it a government job, you get paid by government instead of boss.
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