r/itcouldhappenhere • u/SuddenlySilva • 11d ago

Prepping Will consumer grade mask respirator protect against tear gas exposure (leaving and not engaging)

Planning a summer road trip with teens. Lots of camping and tourist stuff but if a protest pops up where we are then we will likely attend. It's quite possible this summer will be historic.

I'm not going to put my family in danger or engage with police but if it goes to shit I would not want a little tear gas to keep us from observing the activity from a safe distance.

I have a few masks for painting and I would just get a couple more if they are adequate.

EDIT: I found my answer in Margret's Podcast . S1E7 Gas Masks and Goggles. My half mask paint respirators along with goggles will do the trick for the most part.

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84

u/HuntDisastrous9421 11d ago

An N95 is not super helpful against tear gas, and you’ll need eye protection too. - signed, someone who lived 2 miles downwind of the George Floyd protests

15

u/SuddenlySilva 11d ago

Now we're getting somewhere. Are you talking about N95 paper particle masks?

I'm talking about something like THIS

14

u/HuntDisastrous9421 11d ago

No experience with one of those. Probably better than N95, as long as you have a good seal. Note that if the seal isn’t great and you get some tear gas inside the mask or inside your eye protection, you will be in a world of hurt. Tear gas can also irritate skin so make sure you have a way to shower off and wash clothes ASAP.

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u/Toomanydamnfandoms 11d ago

Most important factor for any mask you get is conducting a proper fit test, like medical professionals do, trust me. Doesn’t matter a whit if your half face elastomeric respirator plastic is heavier duty than a paper n95 if the seal is broken somewhere, and you can’t tell without a fit test. You need to make sure it gets the correct seal and sometimes that means shaving if you have a beard, and some faces require different types of masks to be able to get a proper seal. Paper n95s are bad at filtering gas. If you plan on closer exposure and would like something geared towards maximum protection and reusability, I suggest finding a half (used with impact rated goggles) or full face elastomeric respirator and making sure to buy organic vapor cartridge filters for them.

Bonus beard guide to masks. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Facial_hairstyles_and_filtering_facepiece_respirators.pdf/page1-1280px-Facial_hairstyles_and_filtering_facepiece_respirators.pdf.jpg

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u/Muezza 10d ago

mad respect to the cdc for approving the toothbrush

5

u/dankeykang4200 10d ago

You need to make sure it gets the correct seal and sometimes that means shaving if you have a beard,

It absolutely means shaving if you have a beard. Even a five o clock shadow can be enough to prevent a proper seal. Depending on what you are exposed to that can be bad. Hitler started wearing that stupid little mustache because it was the most facial hair he could have and still get a seal with the gas masks they had in WW1. Most modern masks can work with a mustache that extends all the way to the corner of the lips, but not much more.

3

u/Toomanydamnfandoms 10d ago

I’ve had some coworkers still able to get a seal with stubble as I’ve done their mask fit testing getting suited up to take care of ventilated Covid patients back in the peak of 2021, but it probably depends a lot on hair type and I would imagine coarser or curly hair makes it difficult. I would agree that the safest bet is just being clean shaven, and always mask seal testing before a protest regardless.

11

u/phaerus 11d ago

I know this isn't particularly helpful, but I strongly recommend against anything that is health and safety critical from Amazon. Once you figure out exactly what you're looking for, a store like Grainger or even Home Depot is going to be more trustworthy in my mind.

3

u/WongburgersDickship 10d ago

Yes, something like this works. Wore a 3M P100 respirator daily in Chile 2019-2020, zero issues. Tear gas is actually smoke so it’s the ultrafine particulates that you have to filter out. Goggles should be sealed enough that moisture on the inside is a problem (e.g. no ski or motorcycle goggles)

1

u/pyrrhicchaos 9d ago

I wore one of those respirators for two years in a powder coatings factory. Our quick and dirty day-to-day fit test was to put a hand over the front disc and blow out. If it's not sealed well, you will feel the air come out around the edges in a little breeze. If it fits well, if the air comes out it will be more like a fart.

23

u/alriclofgar 11d ago

What you want is “organic vapor” filters. You can buy a half-face (nose and mouth) 3m respirator with OV filters for significantly less than $100. Pair that with goggles. You can also buy a full-face respirator for a little more that will cover your eyes.

If you have facial hair, the respirator will be less effective at sealing around your face.

Anything is better than nothing (so grab an n95 if that’s all you’ve got).

3

u/pinetrees23 11d ago

How much do the goggles do for tear gas/cs? Wouldn't it just come in the side vents? Or are the goggles more for ballistic protection

7

u/alriclofgar 11d ago

You want goggles that do not have vents, to keep the gas out. Impact-rated goggles are a good idea, too.

Some companies make double-layered ventless goggles that are pretty good about not fogging up. I haven’t gotten to test the specific pair I own now against teargas yet, so I can’t recommend a specific brand from personal experience.

Swim goggles are the classic riot punk diy option. They’re not impact safe, so they wouldn’t be my first choice, but they’ve been the popular budget option for a long time.

1

u/Jetpack_Attack 10d ago

They also can get painful over long periods.

I wonder what happens if a baton hits the eye part. Could the pressure cause more injury?

2

u/baklap 10d ago

Always go for safety rated glasses, even the super cheap ones are pretty mutch shatter-proof. All eye protection can cause cuts and bruises when hit, you really want to focus on preventing permanent damage to your eyes first, comfort and seal come 2nd. Even this stands a good chance against a rubber bullet.

2

u/Boowray 10d ago

Not any more than a normal club to the face. Most chem goggles are impact resistant anyway to comply with OSHA guidelines. Unless you’re talking about the air pressure inside the glasses, in which case the seal isn’t nearly that good.

1

u/Jetpack_Attack 9d ago

Yeah, I meant the pressure inside.

20

u/HuntDisastrous9421 11d ago

And - remove contacts from your eyes, they will trap particulates and burn awfully. If anyone in your group has respiratory issues, they should stay away. Full stop. We were two miles downwind and had to evacuate neighbors with asthma.

13

u/slutty_muppet 11d ago

If you're at a safe distance tear gas will not likely affect you enough to warrant a full teargas-proof mask. It would also draw attention from cops. If you don't want to be in the thick of it then you can probably skip the gas masks.

13

u/SuddenlySilva 11d ago edited 11d ago

Well i might want to be at a slightly less safe distance. Or, a situation could escalate suddenly. I'm not gonna spend $500 on MILSPEC facemasks for the whole family but if a $30 respirator from lowes makes the difference between calmly walking to a safe spot while continuing to observe versus having to gasp and crawl for dear life, then it's a reasonable precaution. - but only if someone can tell me if it will work.

8

u/slutty_muppet 11d ago

Unless you're in an enclosed space, staying upwind and taking a few steps away is going to work a lot better than any mask. Tear gas is not a gas, it's not even one singular thing, it's a category of things that are usually a very fine powder suspended in air. If it gets inside a mask it'll stick there. It's better to wear something like a bandanna you can easily shake and rinse off if it gets contaminated.

-3

u/digitalwankster 11d ago

Have you thought about not bringing your teenagers to vacation in a place where protesters are being tear gassed?

29

u/SuddenlySilva 11d ago

My hope is that there is tear gas wafting across every city in America. i just wanna know how much protection is adequate.

18

u/sunsetclimb3r 11d ago

Hey, the actual #1 best source for this stuff is hong Kong protestors. They have all the info. I can't remember off the top of my head, but I think a half mask with the right cartridges cuts it a lot and runs like $45-50 per unit. For full protection you have to also have goggles, or a full mask.

2

u/Jetpack_Attack 10d ago

After a lot of research during Covid, I found the best (for me) civie full face respirator to be the 3M 6800 ($120-150), since it has ANSI High Impact Eye Protection as well as a much wilder field of view. It only has a 4-point restraint system as opposed to the normal 5 with mil gas masks.

Unlike a military type gas mask, you can find replacement carts at most big box hardware stores. As others have mentioned, organic vapor is what you'll want for tear gas.

Also doesn't look as 'scary', unless that's what you're going for. Easier to say you had it for hobbies.

You can even buy plastic covers for the face area that you can remove and replace if it gets damaged or covered in something.

You can find it on Amazon, just beware of fakes. They also gave certain combination cartridges that might be more difficult to find on the shelf.

Good luck!

10

u/AnElectricGoat 11d ago

The Gas Masks and Goggles episode of Live Like the World is Dying had some good info from what I remember

1

u/Jetpack_Attack 10d ago

Very true.

Lots of quality respirator talk.

I learned a lot.

9

u/mrp1ttens 11d ago

You’re gonna want eye protection too. Preferably goggles that have a solid seal.

8

u/Hannah_Louise 11d ago

Full face respirator with organic vapor filters. Do a fit-test to make sure the respirator fits well.

If you are exposed to tear gas, move away from it, find an area with a good breeze and shake around a bunch. Tear gas is a powder that reacts with moisture. Anywhere you sweat or are wet, it will burn. But, if you’re dry and your face is covered, most of it will blow away and shouldn’t be too bad.

Be very careful when you eventually shower. Watch out for water running towards sensitive areas. If you have hair, wash it in the sink first. Then full shower. (Trust me, your hair holds more than you think it does.)

Clean all belongings that were exposed. Wipe down masks, wash bag, etc. You don’t want to pull an old backpack out of the closet and get accidentally gassed again.

Good luck friend.

3

u/Cannibal_Soup 10d ago

Get some bottles of tearless baby shampoo. No shit, it helps wash out your eyes after getting hit with OC spray.

Source: was hit with OC spray when training as a security guard.

2

u/Jetpack_Attack 10d ago

What happens when you get tearless shampoo in your eyes?

I get it cleans, but specifically the shampoo.

2

u/Cannibal_Soup 10d ago

It just flushes out your eyes without irritation.

2

u/Jetpack_Attack 10d ago

Gotcha the only experience I likely had with baby shampoo is when it was bought to be used on me.

3

u/Ziu_echoes 10d ago

Margaret Killjoy did a episode on her not CZM podcast Live Like the World is Dieing it one of the early episodes for what that's worth. S1E7 Gas Masks and Goggles

Looking at the show note a lot of the information comes from A Demonstrator’s Guide to Gas Masks and Goggles

The bests thing to do is probably leave the area before the gas starts flying. Especially if you have kids/young people in tow. but coming from a past life of EMS I will say there is one medical device you should get if you you think your going to be around OC or CS tear gas is a "sabre eye wash adapter" it screws on to most water bottles and allows you to more easily use a water bottle to flush out someones eyes.

2

u/Jetpack_Attack 10d ago

I bet those adapters could be easily 3D printed if they aren't already.

Also, +1 on the LLtWiD gas mask ep. Tons of good info. I learned a lot there.

2

u/Ziu_echoes 10d ago

I did a little bit of looking I didn't easily / quickly find any 3D printed versions of it there vary likelyis something out there. But there is a generic white plastic eye wash adapter that seems to be around 3 to 5 dollars most places they appear to have a different design same concept.

If you have an ambulance worth of equipment on the other hand. You can set up a bag of saline that you attach nasal cannula too put cannla over the bridge of the nose lay the patient down and let the bag of saline flush it out over a couple minutes.eye irrigation via nasal cannula

My service area had a prison in it and it most be some rule that guards have to spray themselves or gas themselves every time they use OC or CS.

1

u/Jetpack_Attack 10d ago

Good little hack, I'll keep them in mind.

1

u/SuddenlySilva 10d ago

Bingo- that was a great podcast I didn't know about and she answered my question, a half face consumer respirator does a pretty good job against tear gas, when accompanied by goggles.

i already have two of these. two more would be nice. they're small, fit in the bottom of my camera bag and would greatly reduce the trauma and drama if we found ourselves in a spiraling situation.

And if I'm completely misguided in my concern, I'll be redy for the next painting project.

2

u/Steelcitysuccubus 11d ago

Nope. You need full face coverage

3

u/bleenken 11d ago

Most anything with filters will be very helpful. Worst case scenario, a wetted cloth mask over a N95 mask will give pretty good short-term protection from the immediate effects. In either case you wanna have eye protection though (if it’s not a full face respirator). Goggles made for wildfire smoke protection work great. No mods needed.

Also good to have a small pack of wet wipes on you. If teargas is deployed wipe all of the sweat off of your face right away. That will help stop the gas from clinging to your skin and dripping down your face. And wipe again before removing your goggles.

1

u/NemeshisuEM 10d ago

You need something like this with 60923 filters

Amazon.com: VITIJY Full Face Respirator Mask - 6800 Reusable Gas Mask with Filters 60923 & 2097 for Painting, Mechanical Polishing, logging, Welding, Dust, Sanding & Cutting : Tools & Home Improvement

1

u/Cool-Importance6004 10d ago

Amazon Price History:

VITIJY Full Face Respirator Mask - 6800 Reusable Gas Mask with Filters 60923 & 2097 for Painting, Mechanical Polishing, logging, Welding, Dust, Sanding & Cutting * Rating: ★★★★☆ 4.5 (25 ratings)

  • Current price: $24.99 👍
  • Lowest price: $24.99
  • Highest price: $32.68
  • Average price: $27.44
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12-2024 $24.99 $24.99 ███████████
11-2024 $25.99 $26.99 ███████████▒
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09-2024 $24.99 $25.99 ███████████
05-2024 $26.88 $32.68 ████████████▒▒▒

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