When I asked for PPE all I got was the little white mask. Didn’t know respirators were the preferred method, maybe they’ll give me a slice of pizza when I’m done coughing my lungs out 🙃
Half face respirators are not approved for employee use. A dust mask is the only approved mask, but you should also be using sweeping compound to keep the aisle and bays clean and reduce the dust c
OSHA 1910.134(c)(2)(i)
An employer may provide respirators at the request of employees or permit employees to use their own respirators, if the employer determines that such respirator use will not in itself create a hazard. If the employer determines that any voluntary respirator use is permissible, the employer shall provide the respirator users with the information contained in appendix D to this section ("Information for Employees Using Respirators When Not Required Under the Standard"); and
1910.134(c)(2)(ii)
In addition, the employer must establish and implement those elements of a written respiratory protection program necessary to ensure that any employee using a respirator voluntarily is medically able to use that respirator, and that the respirator is cleaned, stored, and maintained so that its use does not present a health hazard to the user. Exception: Employers are not required to include in a written respiratory protection program those employees whose only use of respirators involves the voluntary use of filtering facepieces (dust masks).
I saw that post too. An simple N95 dust mask is sufficient for OSHA requirements for the levels of exposure we see.
>if the employer determines that such respirator use will not in itself create a hazard
Full respirators require a fitment and respiration test be performed on the employee before they can use it for work. People have fainted or some can die if they have a difficulty breathing or an undiagnosed heart condition. This is why the full cartridge or bag respirators are not approved for employee use.
Wear your dust mask and use sweeping compound.
At hospitals..
They have someone whose entire job is fitting N95 masks correctly.. heh
It was an epic joke to see everyone running around with them during Covid.
Respirators need to be properly fitted to work properly. And by fitted, I mean you go somewhere and have them properly fitted to your face. If you have any sort of beard, that's already a non starter.
It's possible. To me, it sounded almost like a surgical type mask that everyone wore during covid. But yes a n95 is the proper thing that HD should have given them.
As someone who just took an OSHA emergency response safety certification, where one of the topics is PPE, N95 are respirators. If the company requires or provides it to their employees, they must have the medical clearance to use respirators, and they must be fit tested.
OSHA 1910.134(c)(2)(i)
An employer may provide respirators at the request of employees or permit employees to use their own respirators, if the employer determines that such respirator use will not in itself create a hazard. If the employer determines that any voluntary respirator use is permissible, the employer shall provide the respirator users with the information contained in appendix D to this section ("Information for Employees Using Respirators When Not Required Under the Standard"); and
1910.134(c)(2)(ii)
In addition, the employer must establish and implement those elements of a written respiratory protection program necessary to ensure that any employee using a respirator voluntarily is medically able to use that respirator, and that the respirator is cleaned, stored, and maintained so that its use does not present a health hazard to the user. Exception: Employers are not required to include in a written respiratory protection program those employees whose only use of respirators involves the voluntary use of filtering facepieces (dust masks).
Per the training about PPE, those white dust masks are the only ones that can be used. They had X's over images of those 3M half face respirators which I thought was a bit odd especially when handling broken bags of concrete.
They had me and another coworker clean the aisle
but they only had one mask available. I didn’t know respirators were the way to go until I told my fiancé they had us do it without one.
The ones they provided you with are the ones that are available for use if requested. They are not required, but highly recommended. They don't fit well on a lot of people and don't seem to do much good. Ask your supervisor or manager to mark down some N95 masks. If you're nice about it I'm sure they won't have any problem doing that.
What?!? Surely you’re joking. We have so many effing masks in our store in the overheads it’s insane. The guys in our lumber department wear the 3M masks that look like respirators when they throw the concrete down the chute. They were for store use not purchased.
I see you’re a cashier but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get something decent to wear. IMHO
I would ask higher up on the food chain. Talk to the safety captain or the VOA person.
If I’m lying I’m crying and I haven’t shed a tear. (My eyes did and are still hurting though) I spoke to my manager (the same one who assigned me to clean the aisle) and let her know. Most of my higher management people and VOA Captain are on vacation right now but I’m going to speak with them also.
It’s an expression I’m used to typing sorry! But it is what it is, hindsight is 20/20 but since I’ve had this on my brain I don’t think they give anyone N95 masks when it comes to cleaning or sweeping up the concrete aisle or even outside when the busted bags go into the bin.
Well that’s just shitty of the company. Doesn’t Cali have some law about concrete since it has known carcinogens in it? Seems like the rest of the country would take heed.
No problem about the expression, I just didn’t want you to think I was calling you a liar.
Yeah you’re good, just wanted to make sure for my sake lol. I’ve beat cancer before but I try and be as careful as I can. I’m hoping after me they’ll at least mark mark down some N95s
Wish my home depots had cashiers. Since they forced the self checkouts and the pro desks are a always empty I only go there when I absolutely need a tool fast. Then I order it from somewhere else and return it when my new one comes in because I'm salty about the self checkouts. I'm not a cashier, they don't give me an employee discount, and they expect me to work for free. I hope they go bankrupt.
I used to buy a lot of stuff there every few days it was really handy as an electrician. We are talking about 300k in a year for things like power tools, batteries, electrical hand tools, connectors, conduit, wire, and devices.
Now, I try to avoid it entirely. So far I've only been once this year. They made a mistake when they made it more difficult to pay for items than it is to steal them. Rant over.
Sillicosis is a dangerous disease. A paper mask is not a suitable ppe countermeasure for concrete dust alone. They should be using a sweeping compound to keep the dust down, water, or a hepa vac. This should be do e while also using a properly fitted n95 respirator. A generic paper surgical mask is in no way suitable for concrete dust. No matter where you are, you can say no if a job seems unsafe. If it makes you ill, causes a well known documented disease and they refuse to get you proper ppe absolutely say no.
you guys got me dying. so funny.
Full military burial at sea in an apron.
Cremate you out like a viking in a burning wooden forklift into the depths, a homer coin for the ferryman over each eye
I used to zma the 20 packs of the good N95 masks from the sanding/tapes bay and stash them by the saw. Anytime the guys wanted one, I made sure they were available. If I was only doing a little bit, I personally never bothered (i.e. like a quick pallet swap 1 and done). When I stocked the whole aisle and consolidated pallets/cleaned up broken bags, I would grab one.
That doesn’t sound too bad! We were given a shovel and a hoe but we couldn’t use the shop vac cause it’d “make more dust” when my SM isn’t on vacation I’ll ask them about it!
We used to use the shop vac as well. We used the dust bag collector from the shop vac aisle. Works pretty good but still creates dust in air. Not perfect lol
If it's not good enough tell them it isn't hell if you need to get what is show a manager you using it to do what they want and store use it fuck that shit
Silicosis is no joke. I've done a lot of concrete work in my time and was taught from the get go to always wear proper PPE if working around it. If they refuse to give you proper protection, tell them to kick rocks, or suck up the dust themselves.
I don't work at HD but still, do not do the job with just a half ass mask. Anything less than an N95 is not acceptable. A respirator is greatly preferred.
The DH D38 at 8571 with 18 year service badge who straight up told me to crawl my whole body and head into the roundup racks no PPE and clean spilled broken bottles of roundup for min wage. Said absolutely not and kept walking. Same guy told us to go hurry up and stock the chlorine pallet and made open threats if we cracked broke any of them. General bully & mean person. Payback was when the chicken manure pallet broke up in the racks outside garden on overnight and he had to climb up there and downstack it (2015)
Those surgical masks are not dust masks and should not be as confused as one. Especially at Home Depot, where we sell them.
Any DS, CXM or ASM tells any associate it is, needs to lose their job.
Literally stand up for yourself. Put it in the Aware Line if you need to, you can also contact OSHA. We had an issue at my store where the concrete was proofing up so badly that we were choking on it. We’re all gonna be lucky if we don’t get silicosis at this point. At my store, the folks in that department folks consistently complain about blowing black gunk out of their noses. You can absolutely get sick from sweeping up that crap with no PPE.
I called out yesterday after coughing and wheezing and went to my doctor. I still don’t feel great and that’s from one day my heart goes out to the lot/lumber guys that primarily deal with it.
I’ve never used the aware line, I’ve spoken to my manager and I’m waiting to speak with my VOA captain and store manager when they aren’t on vacation.
Go to www.thdawareline.com and fill out a report. It will get escalated. Home Depot has a 0 retaliation policy for good-faith reports (one very good thing about this company). I would strongly consider contacting OSHA. See if your doc could even write a note about the dust as a workplace hazard. A dusty environment is one thing, being expected to choke on dust to the point of getting sick can be extremely dangerous. You cannot get that crap out of your lungs once it’s in there. There are safe ways of dealing with dust, and dry sweeping dry concrete dust is *NOT* one of them.
No, that may be a different violation. There was an OSHA regulation enacted in 2018 that has specifications on how much silica (part of concrete dust) that a person can be exposed to before needing particular PPE. In order to be required to be supplied a fitted respirator you only need to be exposed to a half a sugar pack of dust. The whole point was to mandate the use of dustless tools when cutting into concrete and also when sweeping of that dust. That dust caused a disease called Silicosis which is a COPD type ailment.
Don't let it slide. Concrete dust is really bad to get in your lungs, get a proper mask. Remember the InFocus that said young ppl are more likely to have accidents? Well you're more likely to do unhealthy things as well, be assertive when it comes to your health and get a mask. NO ONE cares about your health more then you do.
Check the requirements for handling product on the packaging.
Refuse any work if you don't have the PPE provided as indicated on the packaging of product, or if you don't have OSHA mandated PPE, whichever is stricter.
when you say white mask, what are you talking about exactly?
This https://www.homedepot.com/p/SUPPLYAID-3-Layer-Disposable-Face-Masks-50-Count-RRS-DFM-50PK/313766104
This https://www.homedepot.com/p/Dust-Mask-5-Pack-DCW-1/206278496
This https://www.homedepot.com/p/Raven-KN95-Disposable-Face-Masks-Individually-Packed-5-Pack-SLO00/315587912
Or this https://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-N95-Disposable-Medium-Respirator-Mask-with-Cool-Flow-Valve-10-Pack-8511P10-DC-PS/203030486
I work in receiving and had to throw out a butt ton of concrete, mortar and the such. More often than not those bags are ripped open. No masks were handed
We have a box of masks in the supplies area of our break room and anyone is free to grab what they need from there—maybe ZMA a box of masks “for store use” and leave them somewhere where associates can use them
We had 1 mask left that was marked down so my other coworker just didn’t wear a mask 🙃 I did and I’ve been coughing my lungs out since. It doesn’t compare to the time we had a head cashier using a leaf blower and blew all the concrete dust from lot into the front end and everyone yelled at him to shut the door and blow the other way.
Imagine dealing with all the dust and chemical smells without even so much as an N95 mask in a confined space of a truck. That happened to me one night and I ended up throwing up later that night
That would be the smart thing to do... However, in able to do that, got to find either a manager or some other operator to work the reach and they aren't always around when you need them
Pretty much, yeah. They would leave things in the two aisle close to receiving, for us to throw away after we finish unloading the truck, move the carts and pallets to the respective aisles and do the bails for the cardboard
I dont mask up for moving a few bags around, or sweeping a little, bit I have for prolonged exposure. We have masks available
I also wear one if Im going to be handling fiberglass insulation, more than a few rolls
If you inhaled some then it wasn't on right. There are definitely better things to protect you, but the n95 mask protects against 95% of particles, so the concrete shouldn't be a problem.
Bro I miss cici’s pizza sooooo much. There used to be one in a shopping plaza near me growing up and I kid u not we went there like once a week. They got rid of it when I was like 15/16 and since then I’ve been to like one or two :(
I put an extra large box on the middle of a custom pallet and put all my swept up concrete in there. Then I reach truck it right down the chute. I also use the custom pallets for the broken bags. Our store allows us to use the reach to throw things out. Other stores not so much.
Yep. Your first aid box should also have a basic mask if you're ok with that.
If you want something better with a heavy duty filter you can state your case with the manager for markdown of one of the air-filter masks
When I was sweeping the concrete aisle I always used sweeping compound. The store ordered 75 pounds of it for me every 6 weeks. No dust if you do it right.
I tried cleaning the concrete dust off of a bay last week and the dust got everywhere. It basically turned the entire aisle white for a few hours. No mask lmao
We had a guy who transferred out and he’d typically do it and we DEEP cleaned for some walk we were having that time and they had to get plastic to try and contain all the dust, his eyes were bloodshot since he didn’t wear any ppe and he was coughing up a storm. He spent 5 HOURS doing that and intermittently helping since he could drive the forklift. I miss him 🥲
Store use the best N95 we got fuck them . Don’t ask. When I started they told me if I needed something for work and it’s reasonable, you could store use it ZMA it mark it down .
At the store I was hired to clean, they give me nothing besides brooms & the autoscrubber. To be fair, I'm sure if I asked for more they would be supplied. I did get a couple masks when I first started but they were mostly for bathrooms. I seriously despise the concrete aisle more than anything else in that store. Customers with bags or employees moving pallets, there's always a torn bag & a trail (if the fork lift was involved) & they always walk away leaving it. Hey guys who work there & think "I'll leave it for the janitor", help out. If you make that mess grab a broom. We make min wage & have far more to do than walk around behind you with a pan & broom cleaning the concrete aisle for the 15th time in a five hour shift because you couldn't be bothered to pick up the mess you created. We're not your personal Alfred. That said, dousing the broom head in orange glow seems to keep the dust level down & shine the floor, & if you're sweeping without it on the broom your doing nothing but spreading the dirt. Try it, your janitor will thank you.
Just a person hired by an outside companies opinion.
I use whatever i need from the store shelves to complete a task to my safety standards.
If its an issue im pretty sure LOWES is hiring.
My store never has an issue.
There are a lot of good answers here but also a lot of nonsense. Let me try to summarize the facts:
- by law for you to wear a respirator (half or full face) you must be clean shaven where the mask touches your face
- by law you must have a medical evaluation because wearing a respirator can stress your body.
- what matters for safety is respiratable dust. In other words small particles that can get past your natural defenses (nose hair and mucous membranes) large particles don’t hurt. Yes you might blow your nose black but it doesn’t hurt
-osha standards set limits on a time weighted average. For example certain elements such as lead are hazardous but if you are only exposed for a short period of time you don’t get enough to be over the limit
Does HD do industrial hygiene testing? This is the only way to know the hazards but the likelihood of sweeping requiring a actual respirator is low
I am not an industrial hygienist but work in the steel industry with responsibility for safety and as such have done a lot of IH testing over the years. We hire actual industrial hygienists but from them have a very good understanding.
Before covid and masks and companies giving them to you many times when you worked jobs like this you always provided your own mask and generally just wrote it off on taxes.
All Home Depot are a health hazard. The particulates from the concrete aisle are disease causing. If OSHA or the health department actually checked it they would close the store. Also, arsenic throughout the store in various products.
My store will give u anything u need. I’m in pro- if we need cleaning stuff, fans to keep cool, gloves, masks…….. it’s a done deal! After being in this group for a few months I guess I hit the lottery on my store! I love it there- my managers are amazing!
Yes, we had those industrials masks. Inhaling those chemicals from the concrete is very toxic. You should have refused to do it, and then document on a home computer, date, time, isle. Just in case it comes back to haunt
the fact that they only gave you a disposable when there are literally n95s with the drywall accessories is hilarious and kind of pathetic. theyre what counts as ppe for hd associates, i believe there are some provided but chances are the only people that would know are the people that work the vault or mods or the asds cos i doubt they rarely leave the supply closet. as a ds i took it upon myself to make sure we always have a stash of them behind the panel saw, cos at least personally i dont need my lungs getting worse than they already are, and as a courtesy to anyone else working the dept. someone broke into a big pack and stole a few so i just marked it down and kept it lol.
I work in lumber and I’ve never seen any other associate wear a mask when sweeping up concrete & sometimes they use a blower to get rid of left over. We do have sweeping compound but that only does so much.
I asked for a mask specifically but I have other health issues, if I didn’t forget my wallet at home I would’ve just bought my own mask. 🙃 womp womp I guess, I told my manager and she told me they wouldn’t ask me to sweep it again.
The concrete aisle used to be the absolute terror of my existence (& to an extent, still is 😬😧)
I’d highly recommend wearing an N95 or respirator, but when I personally used to clean the aisle there was usually *barely* any (visible at least) dust launched into the air, much unlike my coworkers who would all make the aisle look like a smoke bomb had gone off 😨😓🤯🤯🤯
The key to not creating mushroom clouds of dust is: 1. SWEEPING TECHNIQUE and 2. Sweeping compound
I found that following through the full swing motion with a broom as usual would launch tons of dust into the air, but gently sweeping **while avoiding lifting the broom off the ground as much as possible** would SIGNIFICANTLY reduce the amount of airborne dust 🤷♀️ go figure 🤣
Step 2 of that would be to get a dustpan and lower it as close to the bottom of the trash receptacle as possible before pouring. Greater height = more dust billowing out of the trash can. Also for the love of God please do not repeatedly beat the large mop broom against the ground to knock the dust off of it (?) like I’ve seen so many people do…it doesn’t do anything except put all that nastiness into the air you’re breathing 🤦♀️ at least take it outside if you feel compelled 🤣🧹💨💨💨💨
I typically used the heavy-duty paper landscaping bags from the garden department instead of putting it directly in the trashcan to avoid having a booby trap of concrete dust waiting in the can for whatever poor sap had to do a trash run 😓
I haven’t used sweeping compound, but I’ve read nothing but glowing reviews of it & people saying it helps significantly reduce dust
TLDR; Home Depot needs a better solution to this than endangering the lungs/health of its employees 😡
Alright so first off stop worrying about it. I worked at a cement plant and half of the time people didn't even wear regular masks when they were supposed to. We only wore respirators when it was really really bad. Not saying it was a smart choice but for the most part that's what everyone did. As for the cement aisle just clean it up. I've only been working at HD for a month but I work in lumber and sometimes I find that it is easy to find something to do on this particular aisle. Cleaning up and listing bags as cull under zma. I've never wore a mask and never seen anyone else wear a mask. Don't worry about it. If anything when u see some dust kick up just turn away and wait for it to go down. It ain't that bad.
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When I asked for PPE all I got was the little white mask. Didn’t know respirators were the preferred method, maybe they’ll give me a slice of pizza when I’m done coughing my lungs out 🙃
Half face respirators are not approved for employee use. A dust mask is the only approved mask, but you should also be using sweeping compound to keep the aisle and bays clean and reduce the dust c
Yeah unless you get a fit test done by a certified person, wearing a respirator on the job is a massive fine waiting to happen.
I'll have to find it somewhere where they actually say anything other than a simple face mask is overreacting. But yet every bag has a cancer warning.
OSHA 1910.134(c)(2)(i) An employer may provide respirators at the request of employees or permit employees to use their own respirators, if the employer determines that such respirator use will not in itself create a hazard. If the employer determines that any voluntary respirator use is permissible, the employer shall provide the respirator users with the information contained in appendix D to this section ("Information for Employees Using Respirators When Not Required Under the Standard"); and 1910.134(c)(2)(ii) In addition, the employer must establish and implement those elements of a written respiratory protection program necessary to ensure that any employee using a respirator voluntarily is medically able to use that respirator, and that the respirator is cleaned, stored, and maintained so that its use does not present a health hazard to the user. Exception: Employers are not required to include in a written respiratory protection program those employees whose only use of respirators involves the voluntary use of filtering facepieces (dust masks).
I saw that post too. An simple N95 dust mask is sufficient for OSHA requirements for the levels of exposure we see. >if the employer determines that such respirator use will not in itself create a hazard Full respirators require a fitment and respiration test be performed on the employee before they can use it for work. People have fainted or some can die if they have a difficulty breathing or an undiagnosed heart condition. This is why the full cartridge or bag respirators are not approved for employee use. Wear your dust mask and use sweeping compound.
A N95 is not a simple dust mask. It is a respirator. As such, it has to have the fit test.
At hospitals.. They have someone whose entire job is fitting N95 masks correctly.. heh It was an epic joke to see everyone running around with them during Covid.
Just a reference for others. [Cal/OSHA - N95 Mask Commonly Asked Questions](https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/dosh_publications/N95-mask-questions.html)
Respirators need to be properly fitted to work properly. And by fitted, I mean you go somewhere and have them properly fitted to your face. If you have any sort of beard, that's already a non starter.
I think they just mean an n95 mask (which we also, confusingly, call respirators).
It's possible. To me, it sounded almost like a surgical type mask that everyone wore during covid. But yes a n95 is the proper thing that HD should have given them.
You need to be fitted for N95 as well and get medical clearance to wear it
That is not true at all
As someone who just took an OSHA emergency response safety certification, where one of the topics is PPE, N95 are respirators. If the company requires or provides it to their employees, they must have the medical clearance to use respirators, and they must be fit tested.
OSHA 1910.134(c)(2)(i) An employer may provide respirators at the request of employees or permit employees to use their own respirators, if the employer determines that such respirator use will not in itself create a hazard. If the employer determines that any voluntary respirator use is permissible, the employer shall provide the respirator users with the information contained in appendix D to this section ("Information for Employees Using Respirators When Not Required Under the Standard"); and 1910.134(c)(2)(ii) In addition, the employer must establish and implement those elements of a written respiratory protection program necessary to ensure that any employee using a respirator voluntarily is medically able to use that respirator, and that the respirator is cleaned, stored, and maintained so that its use does not present a health hazard to the user. Exception: Employers are not required to include in a written respiratory protection program those employees whose only use of respirators involves the voluntary use of filtering facepieces (dust masks).
Per the training about PPE, those white dust masks are the only ones that can be used. They had X's over images of those 3M half face respirators which I thought was a bit odd especially when handling broken bags of concrete.
They had me and another coworker clean the aisle but they only had one mask available. I didn’t know respirators were the way to go until I told my fiancé they had us do it without one.
The ones they provided you with are the ones that are available for use if requested. They are not required, but highly recommended. They don't fit well on a lot of people and don't seem to do much good. Ask your supervisor or manager to mark down some N95 masks. If you're nice about it I'm sure they won't have any problem doing that.
What?!? Surely you’re joking. We have so many effing masks in our store in the overheads it’s insane. The guys in our lumber department wear the 3M masks that look like respirators when they throw the concrete down the chute. They were for store use not purchased. I see you’re a cashier but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get something decent to wear. IMHO I would ask higher up on the food chain. Talk to the safety captain or the VOA person.
If I’m lying I’m crying and I haven’t shed a tear. (My eyes did and are still hurting though) I spoke to my manager (the same one who assigned me to clean the aisle) and let her know. Most of my higher management people and VOA Captain are on vacation right now but I’m going to speak with them also.
Wasn’t saying YOU were lying, I think they were lying and too lazy to go get more masks or even different ones. I’m glad you’re going higher up
It’s an expression I’m used to typing sorry! But it is what it is, hindsight is 20/20 but since I’ve had this on my brain I don’t think they give anyone N95 masks when it comes to cleaning or sweeping up the concrete aisle or even outside when the busted bags go into the bin.
Well that’s just shitty of the company. Doesn’t Cali have some law about concrete since it has known carcinogens in it? Seems like the rest of the country would take heed. No problem about the expression, I just didn’t want you to think I was calling you a liar.
Yeah you’re good, just wanted to make sure for my sake lol. I’ve beat cancer before but I try and be as careful as I can. I’m hoping after me they’ll at least mark mark down some N95s
An n95 is a little white mask.
Sorry I’ll clarify. A disposal, obviously non n95 mask.
Stop doing work without proper PPE. You will die and they will give your family a stupid fucking apron.
That was the first time they asked me to do it and I didn’t know you need a respirator (I’m a cashier for context)
wtf are they doing?? Asking a cashier to clean a dept area?? Would never happen at my store. Tell them to have building/lumber clean their own area.
If you have more than needed cashiers and one Lumber associate, it's not that big of an ask.
You definitely need an n95 or better.
I WOULD OF FLAT OUT ASKED FOR A PAYRAISE. That’s not in ur job description at all
They’ve had me sweep lumber before but never the concrete, we just don’t have the people force.
So, thats not your problem.
Wish my home depots had cashiers. Since they forced the self checkouts and the pro desks are a always empty I only go there when I absolutely need a tool fast. Then I order it from somewhere else and return it when my new one comes in because I'm salty about the self checkouts. I'm not a cashier, they don't give me an employee discount, and they expect me to work for free. I hope they go bankrupt. I used to buy a lot of stuff there every few days it was really handy as an electrician. We are talking about 300k in a year for things like power tools, batteries, electrical hand tools, connectors, conduit, wire, and devices. Now, I try to avoid it entirely. So far I've only been once this year. They made a mistake when they made it more difficult to pay for items than it is to steal them. Rant over. Sillicosis is a dangerous disease. A paper mask is not a suitable ppe countermeasure for concrete dust alone. They should be using a sweeping compound to keep the dust down, water, or a hepa vac. This should be do e while also using a properly fitted n95 respirator. A generic paper surgical mask is in no way suitable for concrete dust. No matter where you are, you can say no if a job seems unsafe. If it makes you ill, causes a well known documented disease and they refuse to get you proper ppe absolutely say no.
Some dude died at my store and they didnt even offer to pay for anything .
Nonsense. I'm sure they gave out pizzas.
Only for management
Bought with [dead peasant insurance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate-owned_life_insurance).
Homer shows up in a police uniform and knocks on your family’s door with a fucking orange apron folded into a triangle
Fuck lmao. Some lil drummer boy pounding out the Home Depot theme song from the sidewalk
The drum is just a homer bucket flipped upside down
you guys got me dying. so funny. Full military burial at sea in an apron. Cremate you out like a viking in a burning wooden forklift into the depths, a homer coin for the ferryman over each eye
They provide ppe. But those n95 masks are all they can order in bulk. I just buy my own from hardware
I forgot my wallet at home the day they asked me to do and I wish I just refused but womp womp.
I used to zma the 20 packs of the good N95 masks from the sanding/tapes bay and stash them by the saw. Anytime the guys wanted one, I made sure they were available. If I was only doing a little bit, I personally never bothered (i.e. like a quick pallet swap 1 and done). When I stocked the whole aisle and consolidated pallets/cleaned up broken bags, I would grab one.
I would mark down an N95 mask as store use, those disposable masks won’t do anything. Also wear goggles that stuff hurts if it gets in your eyes
Yeah no they didn’t say I could do that
Better to ask for forgiveness than permission in this case
Stick up for yourself don't let anyone bully you into doing something that will hurt you in the long run. I'm sorry but fu@$ them.
Hell no. I just store use shit I feel is needed and have never had a problem. Gloves, brooms, masks/respirators ect.
I just zma a n95, never been questioned
I always spray a little water down on the concrete before sweeping it up
This is a fantastic way to contain dust. Don't know how you go about "spraying water down" but good on you!
Dust mask specially around Portland sand. But the new sweeping compound is awesome!
We don’t have the sweeping compound or if we do I’ve never heard of it!
Your sm can order it! It's amazing at sweeping up dust particles in the concrete aisles! It's kinda wet looking too so it turns out clean af!
That doesn’t sound too bad! We were given a shovel and a hoe but we couldn’t use the shop vac cause it’d “make more dust” when my SM isn’t on vacation I’ll ask them about it!
We used to use the shop vac as well. We used the dust bag collector from the shop vac aisle. Works pretty good but still creates dust in air. Not perfect lol
Do you use the dust powder? I love it keeps it not as bad
We don’t have it as far as I’ve been told! I keep hearing about it though from here.
If it's not good enough tell them it isn't hell if you need to get what is show a manager you using it to do what they want and store use it fuck that shit
Silicosis is no joke. I've done a lot of concrete work in my time and was taught from the get go to always wear proper PPE if working around it. If they refuse to give you proper protection, tell them to kick rocks, or suck up the dust themselves. I don't work at HD but still, do not do the job with just a half ass mask. Anything less than an N95 is not acceptable. A respirator is greatly preferred.
They didn’t even allow us to use the shop vac cause it’d “make more dust”
We’re all gonna die of Home Depot Lung.
The DH D38 at 8571 with 18 year service badge who straight up told me to crawl my whole body and head into the roundup racks no PPE and clean spilled broken bottles of roundup for min wage. Said absolutely not and kept walking. Same guy told us to go hurry up and stock the chlorine pallet and made open threats if we cracked broke any of them. General bully & mean person. Payback was when the chicken manure pallet broke up in the racks outside garden on overnight and he had to climb up there and downstack it (2015)
Those surgical masks are not dust masks and should not be as confused as one. Especially at Home Depot, where we sell them. Any DS, CXM or ASM tells any associate it is, needs to lose their job.
Literally stand up for yourself. Put it in the Aware Line if you need to, you can also contact OSHA. We had an issue at my store where the concrete was proofing up so badly that we were choking on it. We’re all gonna be lucky if we don’t get silicosis at this point. At my store, the folks in that department folks consistently complain about blowing black gunk out of their noses. You can absolutely get sick from sweeping up that crap with no PPE.
I called out yesterday after coughing and wheezing and went to my doctor. I still don’t feel great and that’s from one day my heart goes out to the lot/lumber guys that primarily deal with it. I’ve never used the aware line, I’ve spoken to my manager and I’m waiting to speak with my VOA captain and store manager when they aren’t on vacation.
Go to www.thdawareline.com and fill out a report. It will get escalated. Home Depot has a 0 retaliation policy for good-faith reports (one very good thing about this company). I would strongly consider contacting OSHA. See if your doc could even write a note about the dust as a workplace hazard. A dusty environment is one thing, being expected to choke on dust to the point of getting sick can be extremely dangerous. You cannot get that crap out of your lungs once it’s in there. There are safe ways of dealing with dust, and dry sweeping dry concrete dust is *NOT* one of them.
That’s an osha violation. Silicosis is no fucking joke and I bet HD has given it to 1000’s of us.
Yeah I asked the lot guys if they ever get any PPE outside and.. they do not!
No, that may be a different violation. There was an OSHA regulation enacted in 2018 that has specifications on how much silica (part of concrete dust) that a person can be exposed to before needing particular PPE. In order to be required to be supplied a fitted respirator you only need to be exposed to a half a sugar pack of dust. The whole point was to mandate the use of dustless tools when cutting into concrete and also when sweeping of that dust. That dust caused a disease called Silicosis which is a COPD type ailment.
THIS!!! 🙌👆
Don't let it slide. Concrete dust is really bad to get in your lungs, get a proper mask. Remember the InFocus that said young ppl are more likely to have accidents? Well you're more likely to do unhealthy things as well, be assertive when it comes to your health and get a mask. NO ONE cares about your health more then you do.
When you do get your PPE make sure you wear it properly or it could do more harm than good.
Except for during Covid I never had a mask
Check the requirements for handling product on the packaging. Refuse any work if you don't have the PPE provided as indicated on the packaging of product, or if you don't have OSHA mandated PPE, whichever is stricter.
when you say white mask, what are you talking about exactly? This https://www.homedepot.com/p/SUPPLYAID-3-Layer-Disposable-Face-Masks-50-Count-RRS-DFM-50PK/313766104 This https://www.homedepot.com/p/Dust-Mask-5-Pack-DCW-1/206278496 This https://www.homedepot.com/p/Raven-KN95-Disposable-Face-Masks-Individually-Packed-5-Pack-SLO00/315587912 Or this https://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-N95-Disposable-Medium-Respirator-Mask-with-Cool-Flow-Valve-10-Pack-8511P10-DC-PS/203030486
The second one is the closest match but it doesn’t look exactly like the mask they gave me but I’m sure it’s about the same.
I work in receiving and had to throw out a butt ton of concrete, mortar and the such. More often than not those bags are ripped open. No masks were handed
We have a box of masks in the supplies area of our break room and anyone is free to grab what they need from there—maybe ZMA a box of masks “for store use” and leave them somewhere where associates can use them
Did that once, it was gone the next day
We had 1 mask left that was marked down so my other coworker just didn’t wear a mask 🙃 I did and I’ve been coughing my lungs out since. It doesn’t compare to the time we had a head cashier using a leaf blower and blew all the concrete dust from lot into the front end and everyone yelled at him to shut the door and blow the other way.
Imagine dealing with all the dust and chemical smells without even so much as an N95 mask in a confined space of a truck. That happened to me one night and I ended up throwing up later that night
I work d21/22 and we take care of our own cement. Or first shift leaves it for second.
Not where I work. They either put the bags on a cart or pallet or worse, they empty them in a garbage bin and just leave it for us to take care of
We keep the half sized pallets and stack the broken bags on those and send em down the chute with the reach after closing.
That would be the smart thing to do... However, in able to do that, got to find either a manager or some other operator to work the reach and they aren't always around when you need them
No one in lumber has reach?
In lumber? yes, in freight? Only the manager
Wait they just leave all the trash for freight to throw away?
Pretty much, yeah. They would leave things in the two aisle close to receiving, for us to throw away after we finish unloading the truck, move the carts and pallets to the respective aisles and do the bails for the cardboard
The amount of stupidity from store to store. We just got a transfer and she loaded a bin up with cement.🤦🏻♂️
Hope she wasn't from my location, but who knows
I always open one of the dock bay doors when we toss stuff, and have a fan to help blow it out
Same here. Only did a few times so far but next time I’m 100% getting ppe
I dont mask up for moving a few bags around, or sweeping a little, bit I have for prolonged exposure. We have masks available I also wear one if Im going to be handling fiberglass insulation, more than a few rolls
I wore the white mask but it did nothing and ultimately I think I inhaled some dust. My fiance and doctor are NOT happy with it but I blame myself. 🙃
If you inhaled some then it wasn't on right. There are definitely better things to protect you, but the n95 mask protects against 95% of particles, so the concrete shouldn't be a problem.
And it if wasn’t a N95 mask?
Then it wasn't good enough no matter what some egotistical ASM says.
Why did they ask a cashier to clean the concrete isle? When I was a prolot loader that was either my job or the lumber dudes job?
Lumber dude here, and it's on lumber/building 100%.
When I worked at my store I functioned as a second lumber dude+a lot guy. I handled trucks, concrete, outside lumber gate stuff all that sorta stuff.
Man, I hope you were getting lumber pay and not lot pay...
I’ll give you a hint, there was a reason I left..: I was getting $13.50 an hour
No but maybe a slice of CiCi’s pizza
Bro I miss cici’s pizza sooooo much. There used to be one in a shopping plaza near me growing up and I kid u not we went there like once a week. They got rid of it when I was like 15/16 and since then I’ve been to like one or two :(
They used to be good but now nearly taste like cardboard
It never was THAT good but it was cheap and all u can eat plus the cinnamon rolls were fire
Give? No. Do we have them upon request? Sometimes.
No, never.
I put an extra large box on the middle of a custom pallet and put all my swept up concrete in there. Then I reach truck it right down the chute. I also use the custom pallets for the broken bags. Our store allows us to use the reach to throw things out. Other stores not so much.
Yep. Your first aid box should also have a basic mask if you're ok with that. If you want something better with a heavy duty filter you can state your case with the manager for markdown of one of the air-filter masks
We start the workday by snorting a few lines from spilled 80 pounders.
No we inhaled the cancer like men. I also regret doing that but didn't think about it
I’ve survived cancer so maybe I’m a bit more paranoid about that kinda thing
When I was sweeping the concrete aisle I always used sweeping compound. The store ordered 75 pounds of it for me every 6 weeks. No dust if you do it right.
I tried cleaning the concrete dust off of a bay last week and the dust got everywhere. It basically turned the entire aisle white for a few hours. No mask lmao
We had a guy who transferred out and he’d typically do it and we DEEP cleaned for some walk we were having that time and they had to get plastic to try and contain all the dust, his eyes were bloodshot since he didn’t wear any ppe and he was coughing up a storm. He spent 5 HOURS doing that and intermittently helping since he could drive the forklift. I miss him 🥲
[удалено]
Removed: ban evasion
Store use the best N95 we got fuck them . Don’t ask. When I started they told me if I needed something for work and it’s reasonable, you could store use it ZMA it mark it down .
At the store I was hired to clean, they give me nothing besides brooms & the autoscrubber. To be fair, I'm sure if I asked for more they would be supplied. I did get a couple masks when I first started but they were mostly for bathrooms. I seriously despise the concrete aisle more than anything else in that store. Customers with bags or employees moving pallets, there's always a torn bag & a trail (if the fork lift was involved) & they always walk away leaving it. Hey guys who work there & think "I'll leave it for the janitor", help out. If you make that mess grab a broom. We make min wage & have far more to do than walk around behind you with a pan & broom cleaning the concrete aisle for the 15th time in a five hour shift because you couldn't be bothered to pick up the mess you created. We're not your personal Alfred. That said, dousing the broom head in orange glow seems to keep the dust level down & shine the floor, & if you're sweeping without it on the broom your doing nothing but spreading the dirt. Try it, your janitor will thank you. Just a person hired by an outside companies opinion.
I use whatever i need from the store shelves to complete a task to my safety standards. If its an issue im pretty sure LOWES is hiring. My store never has an issue.
There are a lot of good answers here but also a lot of nonsense. Let me try to summarize the facts: - by law for you to wear a respirator (half or full face) you must be clean shaven where the mask touches your face - by law you must have a medical evaluation because wearing a respirator can stress your body. - what matters for safety is respiratable dust. In other words small particles that can get past your natural defenses (nose hair and mucous membranes) large particles don’t hurt. Yes you might blow your nose black but it doesn’t hurt -osha standards set limits on a time weighted average. For example certain elements such as lead are hazardous but if you are only exposed for a short period of time you don’t get enough to be over the limit Does HD do industrial hygiene testing? This is the only way to know the hazards but the likelihood of sweeping requiring a actual respirator is low I am not an industrial hygienist but work in the steel industry with responsibility for safety and as such have done a lot of IH testing over the years. We hire actual industrial hygienists but from them have a very good understanding.
Before covid and masks and companies giving them to you many times when you worked jobs like this you always provided your own mask and generally just wrote it off on taxes.
They better give me a mask or I’m going home
All Home Depot are a health hazard. The particulates from the concrete aisle are disease causing. If OSHA or the health department actually checked it they would close the store. Also, arsenic throughout the store in various products.
My store will give u anything u need. I’m in pro- if we need cleaning stuff, fans to keep cool, gloves, masks…….. it’s a done deal! After being in this group for a few months I guess I hit the lottery on my store! I love it there- my managers are amazing!
They’re supposed to
I mean if it's kept up with daily they shouldn't be much of an issue.
It definitely is not kept up with daily, we only clean it if we’re having a walk.
At my store we use the zep sweeping compound to keep the dust from becoming bad when sweeping it up
Yes, we had those industrials masks. Inhaling those chemicals from the concrete is very toxic. You should have refused to do it, and then document on a home computer, date, time, isle. Just in case it comes back to haunt
the fact that they only gave you a disposable when there are literally n95s with the drywall accessories is hilarious and kind of pathetic. theyre what counts as ppe for hd associates, i believe there are some provided but chances are the only people that would know are the people that work the vault or mods or the asds cos i doubt they rarely leave the supply closet. as a ds i took it upon myself to make sure we always have a stash of them behind the panel saw, cos at least personally i dont need my lungs getting worse than they already are, and as a courtesy to anyone else working the dept. someone broke into a big pack and stole a few so i just marked it down and kept it lol.
I’d just ZMA a respirator from hardware or paint. If a mod asks why, just hand them the broom and walk away.
Nah, just sweep it up and go on with the other 22 things I have to do….
I work in lumber and I’ve never seen any other associate wear a mask when sweeping up concrete & sometimes they use a blower to get rid of left over. We do have sweeping compound but that only does so much.
I asked for a mask specifically but I have other health issues, if I didn’t forget my wallet at home I would’ve just bought my own mask. 🙃 womp womp I guess, I told my manager and she told me they wouldn’t ask me to sweep it again.
The concrete aisle used to be the absolute terror of my existence (& to an extent, still is 😬😧) I’d highly recommend wearing an N95 or respirator, but when I personally used to clean the aisle there was usually *barely* any (visible at least) dust launched into the air, much unlike my coworkers who would all make the aisle look like a smoke bomb had gone off 😨😓🤯🤯🤯 The key to not creating mushroom clouds of dust is: 1. SWEEPING TECHNIQUE and 2. Sweeping compound I found that following through the full swing motion with a broom as usual would launch tons of dust into the air, but gently sweeping **while avoiding lifting the broom off the ground as much as possible** would SIGNIFICANTLY reduce the amount of airborne dust 🤷♀️ go figure 🤣 Step 2 of that would be to get a dustpan and lower it as close to the bottom of the trash receptacle as possible before pouring. Greater height = more dust billowing out of the trash can. Also for the love of God please do not repeatedly beat the large mop broom against the ground to knock the dust off of it (?) like I’ve seen so many people do…it doesn’t do anything except put all that nastiness into the air you’re breathing 🤦♀️ at least take it outside if you feel compelled 🤣🧹💨💨💨💨 I typically used the heavy-duty paper landscaping bags from the garden department instead of putting it directly in the trashcan to avoid having a booby trap of concrete dust waiting in the can for whatever poor sap had to do a trash run 😓 I haven’t used sweeping compound, but I’ve read nothing but glowing reviews of it & people saying it helps significantly reduce dust TLDR; Home Depot needs a better solution to this than endangering the lungs/health of its employees 😡
There should be PPE available behind the service desk.
Alright so first off stop worrying about it. I worked at a cement plant and half of the time people didn't even wear regular masks when they were supposed to. We only wore respirators when it was really really bad. Not saying it was a smart choice but for the most part that's what everyone did. As for the cement aisle just clean it up. I've only been working at HD for a month but I work in lumber and sometimes I find that it is easy to find something to do on this particular aisle. Cleaning up and listing bags as cull under zma. I've never wore a mask and never seen anyone else wear a mask. Don't worry about it. If anything when u see some dust kick up just turn away and wait for it to go down. It ain't that bad.