Sperian PANTHER - General Safety Warnings

Panther/Cougar/Puma SCBA Operation Manual
2
WARNING—Continued
consent. The user must read, under-
stand, and follow the accessory in-
stallation and operation instructions
before using this SCBA in a hazard-
ous environment. Only SPERIAN com-
ponents shall be used with this SCBA.
Failure to comply shall void the war-
ranty and NIOSH approval.
Your SPERIAN respirator has been •
constructed of materials selected after
careful consideration for their perfor-
mance, safety, and durability. However,
all materials have exposure limitations
to ame, extremes of heat and cold, or
to the many chemicals in use today. No
materials exist that can be used safely
in all of these environments.
Our engineers cannot predict what will •
happen to this equipment in every po-
tential environment. Materials can be
chemically attacked if exposed to the
wrong environment and may exhibit
excessive corrosion or other forms of
damage. Permeation of gases and liq-
uids through the materials could be ex-
cessive. Flame or extremes of tempera-
ture might cause thermal degradation.
Each of these things, or a combination
of them, could create conditions in
which this SPERIAN equipment would
be dangerous to use.
This respirator will reduce, but will •
not eliminate the inhalation of con-
taminants. Before allowing anyone to
enter a hazardous environment while
wearing SPERIAN equipment, you
must conduct safe, scientic tests to
determine if the environment could
render the equipment unsafe. Results
of this testing should be well docu-
mented. Seek the help of a certied
safety professional or industrial hy-
gienist. DO NOT USE this equipment
if the user would be endangered in
any way through environmentally in-
duced degradation of the materials in
the apparatus.
All persons using this SPERIAN •
breathing apparatus must be made
aware of its limitations. We cannot be
responsible for any damage to prop-
erty, personal injury, or death in which
environmental exposure is a contrib-
uting factor.
This respirator does not protect ex-•
posed areas of the body. Some con-
taminants can be absorbed directly
through the skin while others may ir-
ritate exposed areas.
WARNING—Continued
Visual indications of material degra-•
dation may be identied by charring,
blistering, cracking, crazing, pitting,
chalking, rust, and signicant color
changes, all of which can result in a
weakened structure, prohibiting ex-
tended useful service life.
Do not wear this respirator if a satis-•
factory t, as determined by a qualita-
tive or quantitative t test, cannot be
obtained. See ANSI Z88.2 latest edi-
tion and OSHA Respirator Standard
(29 CFR 1910.134).
Beards and sideburns will prevent •
a good facepiece seal. Do not use
this respirator unless you are clean
shaven.
This respirator must be used in con-•
junction with a written respirator pro-
gram meeting the requirements of
the OSHA Standard for Respiratory
Protection, 29 CFR 1910.134, avail-
able from the U.S. Department of La-
bor, Occupational Safety and Health
Administration. The program must
include, but not be limited to proce-
dures for evaluating air contaminants
and selecting appropriate respirators,
procedures for testing the facepiece-
to-face t of respirators, procedures
for cleaning, disinfecting, inspecting,
maintaining, and storing respirators,
procedures for determining if workers
are physically and medically capable
of wearing respirators, and proce-
dures for training employees in the
use of respirators and in recognizing
the hazards associated with contami-
nants in the workplace.
Do not use this respirator underwater •
or for abrasive blasting.
Before use in welding operations, the •
SCBA must be equipped with a black
facepiece, a welding shield, and upper
and lower bibs.
This SCBA is designed for storage in •
temperatures from -30°F to +160°F.
SPERIAN respirators, accessories, •
and associated equipment should not
be used in atmospheres which may
contain contaminant concentrations
above the lower explosive level (LEL).
Intrinsic safety certication of elec-
tronic components does not eliminate
potential danger from ignition in these
atmospheres.