If the activated carbon filters on the masks are saturated, then they 
are worse than useless. If the operators can smell the stuff, then they 
must be saturated. A filter is generally quite small, typically 
containing 30-40 g of carbon, which may adsorb, say, 5 g or so solvent. 
I suggest that you find a scuba diver who will lend you his tanks!

Brian

Ken Bloomquist wrote:
> I have an unusual question for all you chemical types out there.
> 
> We are doing some heavy cleaning with IPA and our organic vapor cartridges
> on the respirator masks don't seem to keep the smell of the IPA away from
> the operator. According to the different data sheets I've looked at say that
> an organic vapor cartridge should work.
> 
> My question is can you still smell the fragrance of the IPA while having all
> the bad stuff trapped by an organic vapor cartridge? If so how would you
> know when the cartridge was saturated?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> KennyB
> 
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