I don't know if this has ever been brought up, but I was watching old news footage on youtube, and I noticed during 9/11 the amount of dust, would it not be wise to carry a couple of disposable dust masks (like for painting and drywalling) in your glove box, should an attack ever happen in your city? It might help you breath a bit easier.
__________________ turning up the radio, got just enough religion and a half tank of gas...
You can pickup some cheap masks at a paint store and keep'm in a ziplock bag. Do not fool yourself, they only protect against dust. You can also get some paper jump suits that will pretty much protect your clothing against dust.
I was an Environmental Cop for 15 years and we used a lot of this type stuff.
If you ever are near a fire, explosion or chemical release the very first thing to know is what direction the wind is blowing. The wind is your best friend or your worst enemy.
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Aim real good we're nearly out of ammo.
Stitchclimber,
Absolutely have dust masks. I live in the Portland Oregon area. After Mount St. Helens (and 2 1/2 years in the South West Asia theater) I have a good appreciation of how bad dust can get. Some of the commercially available emergency kits come with them already. Failing that the hardware store paint section will have them. Not expensive and virtually no weight or bulk. Cheap insurance.
Be aware the really cheap ones don't seal very well. A little masking tape or duck tape will seal the edges. Not pleasant, but temporary. Silicosis is for life.
You might also want to think about how to rig an extra air filter on your car. After St. Helens people destroyed their engines with only a few minutes of operation. Knowing how to keep your car alive long enough to get you out of the threat area would be good.
Chemical respirators (w/ plenty of refill cartridges) aren't too expensive and are available at most do-it-yourself- pest control stores and the big box stores. Paint stores may sell them too, but the cartridges may not be for chemicals. I'd also recommend some non-vented goggles.
The problem with gas masks is that they clog up very quickly in a dusty environment. If you use them you'll need an additional dust filter over the chemical filter inlet. One that can be changed or cleaned quickly.
I use one of these for painting and welding and they work pretty well: Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices
After painting about 1.5 cars and several total hours of torch welding, they are indeed starting to clog up. But overall I am pretty satisfied.
The only thing I don't like for an emergency is their size. For that reason, I will most likely just buy a small pack of those dust mask filters and just use duct tape as advised (which I keep plenty of) for the really bad situations.
I use one of these for painting and welding and they work pretty well: Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices
After painting about 1.5 cars and several total hours of torch welding, they are indeed starting to clog up. But overall I am pretty satisfied.
The only thing I don't like for an emergency is their size. For that reason, I will most likely just buy a small pack of those dust mask filters and just use duct tape as advised (which I keep plenty of) for the really bad situations.
I keep one of those in my car, it's pretty much the same but made by 3M. Mainly started keeping it in the car when we had several fires in the area and smoke was rather thick in the air. The mask really did help.
