Yulia Rirdan
9h
Everyone, please feel free to edit this template letter that I wrote any way you see fit and send it to your HR/employee health
Dear Mr/Ms/Dr.
I am very grateful to be working for a company that puts its employees’ wellbeing as its top priority and creates a welcoming environment for reporting potential safety concerns.
It is my understanding that in regard to air quality, the current standard for carbon dioxide (CO2) saturation established by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is 5000 ppm (1). It is also my understanding that OSHA classifies CO2 levels above 5,000 ppm as “toxic” and says that in levels above 5,000 ppm “toxicity or oxygen deprivation could occur” (2). OSHA further elaborates that levels of CO2 in the range of 2,000-5,000 ppm are associated with headaches, sleepiness, attention loss, increased heart rate and nausea (2). OSHA warns that “elevated levels of carbon dioxide can be toxic, even with adequate oxygen for life support” (1).
As you know, covid protocol requires that all employees are to wear a face mask. As I have noticed some of the symptoms that OSHA alerts the public to in the context of toxic CO2 levels, I decided to conduct an experiment of measuring the levels of carbon dioxide inside different types of masks (a respirator, a surgical/hospital mask, a cloth mask and a bandanna face covering). I used a professional, OSHA approved portable CO2 meter to conduct the experiment. For each of the face coverings, I assured a correct mask placement and placed the extended part of the meter inside the mask, as far away from my mouth and nose as possible. I was in a still sitting position throughout the experiment, breathing calmly and steadily. To my surprise, with all four face coverings (a respirator, a surgical/hospital mask, a cloth mask and a bandanna), the OSHA classified “toxic” level of above 5,000 ppm was reached in less than 5 minutes. The CO2 meter was equipped with a maximum scale of 9,999 ppm. With all four face coverings, this maximum scale capacity of 9,999 ppm was reached in less than 10 minutes. The meter was setting a loud alarm at that point, as the CO2 level has gone off its chart. As the meter’s scale was limited to 9,999 ppm, it was impossible to measure any further developments of the CO2 levels inside the mask. If it did not go off the chart of the meter, where would these numbers be after 30 minutes, 1 hour, or 4 hours of continuous mask use? I found this alarming, and therefore, felt obliged to bring this potential health hazard to your immediate attention.
It is important to note that studies have shown that malignant (cancer) stem cells strongly prefer a low-oxygen environment, which is conducive to cancerous cells’ differentiation, growth, and tissue proliferation. A study published in Molecular Biology of the Cell concluded that low oxygen state (hypoxia) induces progression and metastasis of certain cancerous tumors (3). Similar message is clearly conveyed by Johns Hopkins University. On its website, Johns Hopkins University explains that research showed that breast cancer stem cells best grow and proliferate in low oxygen environment (4). The university stresses the point that such stem cell proliferation is the main obstacle to treating breast cancer and keeping successfully treated cancer in remission as stem cell proliferation makes the cancer resistant to chemotherapy (4).
Given the seriousness of consequences of a prolonged exposure to low oxygen environment, not being able to know the exact levels of potentially toxic carbon dioxide inside the mask is concerning. Perhaps the company would be willing to invest into an OSHA approved portable CO2 meter with a scale exceeding the 9,999 ppm, so that employees could measure the exact amount of CO2 inside their masks during the length of their shift to assure that they are not exposed to a potentially hazardous levels of the gas.
Thank you so much for your time. I greatly value your commitment to your employees’ safety, especially given the fact that there could be pregnant women in the workforce.
Truly yours,
name
1. United States Department of Labor: Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Retrieved from www.osha.gov/dts/hib/hib_data/hib19960605.html
2. Occupational Health & Safety. Retrieved from http://ohsonline.com/Articles/2016/04/01/Carbon-Dioxide-Detection-and-Indoor-Air-Quality-Control.aspx?Page=2
3. Quail, D. F., Taylor, M. J., Walsh, L. A., Dieters-Castator, D., Das, P., Jewer, M., . . . Postovit, L. (2011). Low oxygen levels induce the expression of the embryonic morphogen nodal. Molecular Biology of the Cell, 22(24), 4809-4821. doi:10.1091/mbc.e11-03-0263
4. Johns Hopkins Medicine (2016). How cancer stem cells thrive when oxygen is scarce. Retrieved from http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/how_cancer_stem_cells_thrive_when_oxygen_is_scarce_
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