Guides & Toolkits

SILO SAFETY 4 800-AOY-01-IADO © 2019, Workplace Safety & Prevention Services (WSPS) 1 877 494 WSPS (9777) | 905 614 1400 | wsps.ca Respiratory Protection Respirators can be broadly classified into two groups: air supplying respirators and air purifying respirators. Air supplying respirators are for use in oxygen-deficient areas such as manure pits; silos containing silo gas, airtight silos, or bins containing high moisture grain. The two main types of air supplying respirators are the hose mask with blower and emergency air supply, and the self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). Air purifying respirators remove contaminants from the air, but can be used only in an environment that has enough oxygen to sustain life. Do not use air purifiers to provide protection from the dangers of oxygen deficient environments such as silos. Resources Department of Labour and Industries, Washington State WA Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program, WA Dept. of Labor & Industries, Silos and Silo Gas Hazards Occupational Health and Safety, Government of Saskatchewan NASD (National Agricultural Safety Database) Ohio State University Extension, Silo Safety © Workplace Safety & Prevention Services 2019. Workplace Safety & Prevention Services (WSPS) grants permission to approved end users to reproduce this document in whole or in part, provided its intended use is for non-commercial, educational purposes and that full acknowledgement is given to the WSPS. Approved end users are firms registered with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. WSPS reserves the right to extend this permission to other stakeholders and interested parties by express written permission upon application. WSPS extends no warranty to materials amended or altered by the end user. Under no circumstances is this document, or any portion thereof, to be duplicated for purposes of sale or for external reproduction or distribution. (Sample WSPS acknowledgement, "Reproduced or adapted from name of solution with permission of Workplace Safety & Prevention Services, Mississauga, Ontario.") The information contained in this reference material is distributed as a guide only. It is generally current to the best of our knowledge as at the revision date, having been compiled from sources believed to be reliable and to represent the best current opinion on the subject. No warranty, guarantee, or representation is made by WSPS as to the absolute correctness or sufficiency of any representation contained in this reference material. WSPS assumes no responsibility in connection therewith; nor can it be assumed that all acceptable safety measures are contained in this reference material, or that other or additional measures may not be required in particular or exceptional conditions or circumstances. Revised: June 2019 WSPS.CA

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