CNN "100+ residents admitted to hospital for oil fumes"

[Large Sarge]

said 80+ were from Louisiana, and about 20 were from Alabama

said these were not workers, just locals who were overcome with oil fumes (sore throats, burning eyes, difficulty breathing, etc)


I cannot get written confirmation, but it was a story on HLN CNN

[oldmansmith]

I think Ponce was right when he said that lots of people will die because of this. I need to order another 100 pounds of oatmeal and dry beans.

[Heimdhal]

Im not up on my gas mask knowledge, but would those old russian military surplus masks from the cold war protect one against these toxins, if only for a short time? I know the filters have carbon and etc, but if not, what other options are there?

I've got a place localy that sells em (actualy used to work at said place) and was thinking of getting some for my family on the west coast of florida, just incase something happens.


I know, I'm starting to sound all tin-foil-y about this stuff, I just want to prepare from every angle as this could potentialy be a literal life and earth altering event for decades to come.

[Large Sarge]

Im not up on my gas mask knowledge, but would those old russian military surplus masks from the cold war protect one against these toxins, if only for a short time? I know the filters have carbon and etc, but if not, what other options are there?

I've got a place localy that sells em (actualy used to work at said place) and was thinking of getting some for my family on the west coast of florida, just incase something happens.


I know, I'm starting to sound all tin-foil-y about this stuff, I just want to prepare from every angle as this could potentialy be a literal life and earth altering event for decades to come.


as long as the seal around the mask is good, and the filter sin the mask are good, it should provide some level of protection

Gas masks are designed to filter much more lethal chemicals than oil fumes

the only potential problem I see is the filters getting clogged with oil

so have extra filters.

[Heimdhal]

Im not up on my gas mask knowledge, but would those old russian military surplus masks from the cold war protect one against these toxins, if only for a short time? I know the filters have carbon and etc, but if not, what other options are there?

I've got a place localy that sells em (actualy used to work at said place) and was thinking of getting some for my family on the west coast of florida, just incase something happens.


I know, I'm starting to sound all tin-foil-y about this stuff, I just want to prepare from every angle as this could potentialy be a literal life and earth altering event for decades to come.


as long as the seal around the mask is good, and the filter sin the mask are good, it should provide some level of protection

Gas masks are designed to filter much more lethal chemicals than oil fumes

the only potential problem I see is the filters getting clogged with oil

so have extra filters.




Thanks. Thats what I figured, but ya never know with that surplus stuff.

Need to find some in kids sizes.

[SLV^GLD]

I'd trust a surplus mask but I'd go new on the filters.

[Quantum]

Im not up on my gas mask knowledge, but would those old russian military surplus masks from the cold war protect one against these toxins, if only for a short time? I know the filters have carbon and etc, but if not, what other options are there?


If they were new, yes. Since they are 20+ years old, probably not.

You need to look for a 3M or MSA NIOSH-rated respirator that filters out benzene and other toxins you want to protect against. They're not cheap, but they actually work.

[Quantum]

I'd trust a surplus mask but I'd go new on the filters.


Rubber deteriorates over time. 20+ years is too long to trust. A bad seal is like no mask at all...sometimes worse.

[Ponce]

Bought 6 of them from "Cheaper Than Dirt" they are army style and like new, I had another one from before and another one with a different style....

To make the filters last longer......adapt the over the mouth and nose filter to cover the inlet hole on the masks......they will pre-filter what ever is on the air and once in a while take that one of and use a new one.

[SLV^GLD]

Seals can be made.
I would expect a mask that can accept a modern filter will also have a decent seal.
You are correct that a leaky seal is as good as no mask at all.
My point was that if you're looking to cut costs then do it on the mask itself. You can hold a mask to your face and know if it leaks before you buy it. How do you know the quality of a filter before you buy it?

[Quantum]

Seals can be made.
I would expect a mask that can accept a modern filter will also have a decent seal.
You are correct that a leaky seal is as good as no mask at all.
My point was that if you're looking to cut costs then do it on the mask itself. You can hold a mask to your face and know if it leaks before you buy it. How do you know the quality of a filter before you buy it?


The structure of the mask itself deteriorates, not just the seals. "Hey, looky, my homemade seal is doing great...too bad for me about the crack in the cheek."

<a href="http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Health/Safety/Products/Catalog/?PC_7_RJH9U5230GE3E02LES9MG812H2_nid=8G2B3GV59PbeF 3RH7CD92Ngl">3M Respirators</a>

Gas masks are like car insurance...you can go with the cheapest, but when you need protection, the cheapest may mean you're SOL.

[Ponce]

Not really Quantum because military protective gas masks are made to a higher standar than the civilian ones.

[Tinman]

Im not up on my gas mask knowledge, but would those old russian military surplus masks from the cold war protect one against these toxins, if only for a short time? I know the filters have carbon and etc, but if not, what other options are there?

I've got a place localy that sells em (actualy used to work at said place) and was thinking of getting some for my family on the west coast of florida, just incase something happens.


I know, I'm starting to sound all tin-foil-y about this stuff, I just want to prepare from every angle as this could potentialy be a literal life and earth altering event for decades to come.
I can't find the link I had that listed unsafe surplus gas masks, but I remember reading that surplus soviet gas masks were pretty much useless for protection and the filter were long past expired and had toxic elements so they were actually harmful to anyone wearing it.

[Heimdhal]

Im not up on my gas mask knowledge, but would those old russian military surplus masks from the cold war protect one against these toxins, if only for a short time? I know the filters have carbon and etc, but if not, what other options are there?

I've got a place localy that sells em (actualy used to work at said place) and was thinking of getting some for my family on the west coast of florida, just incase something happens.


I know, I'm starting to sound all tin-foil-y about this stuff, I just want to prepare from every angle as this could potentialy be a literal life and earth altering event for decades to come.
I can't find the link I had that listed unsafe surplus gas masks, but I remember reading that surplus soviet gas masks were pretty much useless for protection and the filter were long past expired and had toxic elements so they were actually harmful to anyone wearing it.




Yeah, i started looking into it after posting here and read the same. Alot of them apparently have asbestos tissue inside and something calle chromium toxicity, and are pretty much 100% unsafe and ineffective as more than a halloween prop.

I was reading the israelie m15 masks with the newerd NATO filters are good though and I saw em for about 50 bucks a pop without filters. Might be something to consider picking up in the future as a just in case type item. They are NBC rated as well, so i guess it wouldnt hurt to have a couple laying around.

The kids are the biggest concern though, since they cant wear, or likley WOULDNT wear one.

[sunshine05]

I can't find any information to verify this after lots of searching.

[Quantum]

Not really Quantum because military protective gas masks are made to a higher standar than the civilian ones.


And you are purchasing new, recent-manufacture military masks? Where?

Actually, they are not necessarily "higher standard." Most pigs purchase industrial-grade masks for riots and "anti-terrorist" operations. 3M and MSA (and others, I'm sure) make "NBC" filters that will take out nerve agents, and everything less.

[Ponce]

The seven that I have are like the US M-17 but made overseas and never used, they come in a vacuum pack and everything was A OK.

[gunDriller]

the human nose is a sort of filter. sometimes if i'm in a dusty environment i breathe through my nose.

i think i would just hold my breath if i was near those oil fumes. if i breathed those fumes through my nose ... it might never recover.

do all the fumes have a smell, so that people are warned by the smell to get the hell out ?

[SLV^GLD]

I have been trying to wean myself from Wikipedia but I'll be damned if it is not the best general resource for information on elements and molecules.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzene

Yes, benzene has an odor. Benzene is most likely the prominent VOC to avoid in the mix.
How long can you hold your breath? Your nose cannot filter anything except some particulates.

For whatever it may be worth the benzene molecular structure is my favorite of all of them.

[PatColo]

I can't find any information to verify this after lots of searching.


I don't see anything exactly like the title of this thread, but reports of workers/public getting sick are widespread.
http://news.google.com/news/search?aq=f&pz=1&cf=all&ned=us&hl=en&q=Gulf+fumes+sick+hospital



I have been trying to wean myself from Wikipedia but I'll be damned if it is not the best general resource for information on elements and molecules.


wiki's fine on anything which isn't politically-loaded. If it's political (for example (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust_denial)...), wiki's zio-slanted. But even then they can be a start, pointing to external references etc... dyodd, understand wiki's slant, and they can still be a tool in getting closer to the truth of the matter you're investigating.

With google & wiki both PTB assets, you'll notice wiki's entry on whatever subject you google, comes up at/near the top of the search results. ::)

[SLV^GLD]

With google & wiki both PTB assets, you'll notice wiki's entry on whatever subject you google, comes up at/near the top of the search results. ::)
While the spirit of that comment is more or less spot on you do realize that there are fairly innocuous reasons for the phenomena. Primarily, the fact that when someone references a subject they tend to link to the wikipedia article. PageRank algorithm weights oft linked pages higher. Additionally, if you are looking for a good jump on some research, as you said, wikipedia is a great starting point. The more often a search term at google finds the person navigating to wikipedia then the higher that result will go as well.

IOW, I am not so certain the wikipedia rank in results isn't anything more than PageRank doing its job and by job I mean being blind to the content and working strictly with popularity.

You and I and everyone else are the impetus for wikipedia hitting the top results.

I will strongly concur that at the very least Google is a tool of TPTB. Even if the results are pure the sheer IP profiling is invaluable.

[Ash_Williams]

Im not up on my gas mask knowledge, but would those old russian military surplus masks from the cold war protect one against these toxins, if only for a short time? I know the filters have carbon and etc, but if not, what other options are there?

Absolutely not. They just look cool and you can see what it's like to wear one for the experience.

Working gas masks costs hundreds of dollars.

If you could get a surplus one for $50 and it would work properly, every auto paint shop in the country would be ordering them!

If you want one that does work and that you can get filters for locally, the kind they actually do use for auto spraying and painting will probably fit the bill. I think you'll spend around $350 for one. They aren't the same thing, however. A gas mask is built to live in for a short while (some have straws even so you can drink, all are made to not fog up and allow as heavy breathing as they can, and some to make it easier for you to talk and hear. The auto-shop one won't be like that, it'll just keep the fumes from taking you out for a few hours.