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by ceejayoz 1437 days ago
> Setting aside for a moment the fact that chronic, day-in-day-out long term use of N95s has never been studied for potential ill effects...

There are professions that've been doing this for decades without any apparent negative impacts.
2 comments
GekkePrutser 1437 days ago
Yeah but not the same mask cumpled up in a pocket for so long it's become fluffy. I really wonder if that fine plastic material doesn't cause issues over time. The healthcare community is not a good benchmark for this because they have boxes full of fresh ones available everywhere and they change it every time they take it off. So they never wear a badly worn one.
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happyopossum 1437 days ago
Which profession requires constant 8-10hr a day use of an N95 mask?
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ceejayoz 1437 days ago
Some forms of mining, asbestos remediation, industrial work, etc.

They've been used extensively by enough people the burden of proof lies on the folks claiming they're somehow dangerous at this point.

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avar 1437 days ago
If you look at EU standards for asbestos removal [1] this really isn't the case. Ditto for the other examples you cite.

Almost nobody doing industrial work with comparable PPE doesn't spend at least 1-2 hours of a typical workday out of the PPE.

The linked PDF has an example of a typical workday when removing asbestos, note how many times it involves putting on or taking off the PPE.

I'm not making any claim about COVID mask mandates, other than your examples seeming irrelevant to "chronic, day-in-day-out long term use of N95s".

https://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=7478&langId=en

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ceejayoz 1437 days ago
> Almost nobody doing industrial work with comparable PPE doesn't spend at least 1-2 hours of a typical workday out of the PPE.

Which leaves many thousands of hours in PPE, for many thousands of people. If the N95 masks caused health issues, we'd know. If someone can demonstrate a) a mechanism and b) any evidence for such an effect, I'm all ears.

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avar 1436 days ago
It does, and I think that's a reasonable argument & comparison, but it isn't the same as the one you were making initially, which is all I'm pointing out.
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