Full face mask for pesticide spraying in the field and in greenhouses
When mixing and spraying, you breathe product vapour and droplets, and your eyes are exposed to splashes. A full face mask with a combined filter protects airways and eyes together.
What the label says
The right PPE is stated on the product label and its safety data sheet, under personal protective equipment. Italian health authority guidance for farming gives A1P2 or A2P2 filters as a minimum; A2P3 gives an extra margin.
If you use different products in the same season, or products that also release inorganic gases or ammonia, ABEK2 P3 covers more families in one filter.
Mixing
The riskiest moment is often mixing: concentrated product, splashes in the eyes, dust from powder products. Put the mask on there, not only on the tractor.
In greenhouses
In a greenhouse the product stays in the air longer than in the open: respect the re-entry times on the label before working unprotected.
Fumigants have their own rules and some are not held by ordinary gas filters: follow their safety data sheet, which may require self-contained breathing apparatus.
Duties
In Italy, buying and using professional plant protection products requires a certificate of competence (the «patentino»). A full face mask is category III PPE: users must be trained.
The filter to start from
A2 P3Spasciani 202 A2P3
A2P3 stops the organic vapours of the formulations and the spray droplets; it is more protective than the minimums often given for farming (A1P2 or A2P2).
The filter shown is a starting point: the substance's safety data sheet, and at work the risk assessment, have the final word.
Other jobs
Limits and warnings
- An opened filter keeps absorbing moisture and vapour even when not in use: between jobs keep it sealed in a bag, and change it as the manufacturer says.
- A pressurised tractor cab with carbon filters is a different protection and does not replace the mask outside the cab.
- With a beard the seal is not guaranteed.