FAQ

TR 2002 CL3 and CL3+ masks, both in EPDM and Silicone, are available in one size or in two different sizes: Small/Medium (S/M) and Medium/Large (M/L). 

If you decide to opt for the mask with two sizes available, for the choice of the most suitable size it is recommended to proceed according to the Nose/ Chin measure as per the example below: 

The measure of the distance from the attachment of the nose to the tip of the chin can be made with a ruler or a rigid meter; do not follow the contour of the nose since it may provide incorrect measurements. 

SPASCIANI SPA suggest all users of masks should undergo a test of adaptability of the face seal on the specific wearer, e.g. Fit Quantitative Test test, which provides a numerical estimation of the hold factor. Contact Customer Service if you need more information about the Fit Test.

Filters SPASCIANI with standard thread according to EN148-1 and cartridges with special connection have been certified according to the new standards for filters:

EN 14387:2021 for anti-gas filters and combined filters and EN 143:2021 for particulate filters.

The main change concerns the elimination of the Dolomite dust clogging test and the elimination of the R/NR marking, with consequent modification of the filter marking.

The R/NR marking has been removed for the following reason:

In the previous edition of the standards, the filter efficiency tests, both with sodium chloride and paraffin oil, requested 3 tests: the measurement of efficiency after 3 minutes, after the long duration (120 mg of aerosol) and after 24 h of storage. If the value after storage remained within the normal limits, then the filter could be marked R (Reusable), otherwise the filter had to be marked NR (Not reusable). 

With the new edition of the standards, there are only two filter efficiency tests: long duration and storage. And both tests must be within the normal limits.

This means that NR filters no longer exist and that all filters are necessarily R.

The marking without letters R and D has been updated for all filters, as required by the new 2021 standards.

As indicated in the new certificates, the assessment of conformity to the essential health and safety requirements set out in Annex II of EU Regulation 2016/425 is also based on the compliance with standards EN 14387:2004+A1:2008 and EN 143:2001/A1:2006 for performance requirements. Therefore, the efficiency of dust/combined filters in very dusty environments is always guaranteed for those filters that had the D marking, now no longer present (100 filters with standard EN 148-1 anti-dust and combined connection).

All SPASCIANI filters and cartridges are REUSABLE for the particulate part (except for AX and CO filters that are disposable, even if combined).

In Italy, the steel compressed air cylinder must be re-tested after 10 years from the date of construction or from that of the last test.

The compressed air cylinder in composite material  must be re-tested every 3 years.

Refer to your national regulations.

The Quality Management System of Spasciani S.p.A. is certified in accordance with the requirements of EN ISO 9001:2015 by Italcert Notified Body in Milan.

Spasciani produces third category PPE according to EU Regulation 2016/425, or “complex design products” intended to protect the user from the risk of death or serious and permanent injury.

PPE produced by Spasciani S.p.A. are subjected to the CE Certification procedure by a Notified Body; this also applies to PED and MED devices.

All devices are also subject to the control of the Production Quality Assurance System according to Modules D of the applicable Directives and Regulations:

PPE: Regulation (EU) 2016/425 (ex Directive 89/686 / EEC)

PED: Directive 2014/68 / UE (ex Directive 97/23 / CE)

MED: Directive 2014/90 / UE (ex Directive 96/98 / CE)

SOLAS is an acronym for Safety OfLife At Sea. SOLAS is a set of international standards established within the IMO, first released in 1914, following the Titanic disaster. Today SOLAS regulates the basic safety aspects for ships on international voyages such as stability, machinery, electrical installations, fire protection and lifesaving appliances. The main objective of the SOLAS Convention is to specify minimum standards for the construction, equipment and operation of ships.

We recall that the IMO, as a specialized agency of the United Nations, is the global standard-setting authority for the safety, security and environmental performance of international shipping.

The Implementation Regulation (EU) 2019/1397 of MED Directive collects all the legislative and regulatory references useful for CE certification and placing on the European market of marine equipment. For each MED Item the (SOLAS and IMO) design, construction and efficiency requirements are reported, together with the standards test provided by international instruments (ISO, EN standards).

The SOLAS convention rules and IMO resolutions and circulars relevant to the SCBA are listed, together with the referring test standards, in the item MED/3.7, while the references for respirators for emergency evacuations (EEBD) are listed in the item MED/3.41.

PED stands for Pressure Equipment Directive, that saying pressure equipment and assemblies.

Directive 2014/68/EU (PED) regulates the design, manufacturing and conformity assessment requirements of pressure equipment and assemblies. Directive 2014/68/EU was implemented in Italy with Legislative Decree No. 26 of February 15, 2016 and repealed the previous directive 97/23/EC from 07/19/2016.

All Spasciani breathing apparatus equipped with a breathable compressed air cylinder are PED certified.

Conformity assessment and CE certification take place with the B + D certification modules.

MED stands for Marine Equipment Directive or Directive 2014/90/EU on marine equipment which aims to harmonize, among all the Member States of the European Community, the conformity assessment procedures relating to the equipment intended to be placed on board Community vessels.

The Directive repealed the previous 96/98 / EC and was implemented in Italy with Decree Of The President Of The Republic 20 December 2017, n. 239.

The self-contained breathing apparatus models RN FR and RN FR T2 and the EEBD SK and FUGE are MED certified.

IMO is an acronym for International Maritime Organization, a global standard-setting authority for the safety, security and environmental performance of international shipping. Its main role is to create a regulatory framework for the shipping industry that is fair and effective, universally adopted and universally implemented.

Secondo i regolamenti in vigore*, gli autorespiratori MED devono essere dotati di un cavo di sicurezza (lifeline), come descritto nel FSS code al capitolo firefighter outfit. È responsabilità dell’operatore utilizzare l’apparato congiuntamente ad una lifeline conforme ai requisiti dell’item MED/3.44, da collegare tramite un moschettone al telaio dell’apparecchio o ad una cintura separata.

*Direttiva MED 2014/90/UE e relativo Regolamento d’esecuzione 2019/1397/UE, dove sono elencati gli item MED.

According to MED directive it is necessary to have on board, as part of the firefighting equipment, a specific number of SCBAs of a minimum autonomy of 1200 l. Such equipments shall be certified and marked with the MED/SOLAS wheel mark.

The Implementing Regulation of MED Directive states (item MED/3.7) that ISO 23269-2: 2011 – firefighting , maritime use only –  shall be taken as reference for SCBAs requirements.

Just as a reminder, SCBAs are PPE certified according to EN 137 where they are classified into:

Type 1- Apparatus for industrial use

Type 2- Firefighting apparatus

Due to its intended use, Type 2 SCBA differs from Type 1 for highly flame-resistant materials that allow the apparatus to pass tests such as “Flame engulfment”, (*) and radiation resistance tests. Type 2 SCBA shall be equipped with a Class CL3+ mask.

From the above definitions, it follows that SCBA type 2 is the only SCBA suitable for use on board vessels,  in accordance with MED requirements.

Spasciani supplies two Type 2-SCBAs models:

RN FR

RN FR T2

(*) SCBAs for firefighting must pass the “Flash Over” test: the apparatus is put in a cabin at 80° C for 15 minutes and burned by direct flames at 1.000 °C for 10 seconds. At the end of the test, the SCBA is dropped to the ground. After that, the SCBA must perform as usual.

By Aerosols is meant small, solid or liquid particles (such as dust, fumes or mists) scattered in the air. An aerosol contains tiny particles of solid or liquid suspended within a gas.  

With dust is meant the extremely fine, solid particles scattered in the air, which were simply raised up or originated from mechanical processes.  

Mists are made up of very fine droplets of liquid (especially water) suspended in the air. 

Fumes are the gaseous residuals of combustion. Besides gases and vapors, fumes also contain solid matter in the form of very fine (often colloidal) particles such as soot, metal oxide particles or aerosols like suspended oil droplets. The various types of particles differ in size. Depending on their source, the particles size varies considerably and, consequently, also the associated hazard and possible protective measures vary. Particles smaller than 5 μm are called fine dust. Fine dust can be inhaled by humans and reach the lungs. Therefore, this group is particularly important for respiratory protection. 

Due to their size, viruses are comparable to fine dusts.

To adequately protect against aerosols, the legislation provides for two families of devices: 

– filtering facepieces: category III devices, more commonly called “half-masks or dust-masks“, for nose and mouth protection. Particulates protection is indicated with “FFP”, the reference standard is EN 149:2001+ A1:2009; 

– dust filters, to be used both with half-masks and full-face masks: category III devices for nose, mouth, chin and possibly eyes protection. Particulates protection is indicated with “P”, the reference standard is EN 143:2000+A1:2006.  

Protection offered by these two types of devices increases with their filtering efficiency: FFP1, FFP2, FFP3 for facepieces and P1, P2, P3 for filters. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has published various guidelines on the prevention and use of the most suitable devices 

For disease prevention, it is advisable to wear disposable masks with at least FFP2 protection level. FFP2 filtering facepieces are suitable for protection from solid and / or non-volatile liquid particles. To reduce the virus spread, infected people should wear disposable masks with protection level FFP2 or FFP3 without an exhalation valve.  

Spasciani / Sibol masks are certified as PPE according to EN 149:2001+A1:2009 in class FFP2 and FFP3 and fully correspond to the World Health Organization (WHO) indications.

Spasciani/Sibol product list:

• Foldable filtering half mask
• Cup filtering half mask

Gas filter have no definite duration in practice. Durations given in EN standards are applicaple only to tests carried out in a Lab at well defined conditions. It is common practice to consider the filter worn out when one can smell the odour of the gas in the inhaled air. Not all gases however have an odour threashold sufficiently low to permit the user to smell the gas before the concentration is high enough to be dangerous to health. The Guide for the Selection of Filters from Spasciani, lists the odour threashold for many among more common gases. Some other gases, such as CO (Carbon Monoxide) have no smell and cannot be detected by odour. More information in the Informative sheet that come with every pack of product.

The new FSS code has replaced point 2.1.2 of Chapter 3 with two paragraphs describing SCBA for fire protection (2.1.2.1 and 2.1.2.2).
At point 2.1.2.2 it is stated that an SCBA “shall be fitted with an audible alarm and a visual or other device which will alert the user before the volume of the air in the cylinder has been reduced to no less than 200 l”.
According to MED notified bodies this definition does not change the current configuration of MED certified SCBAs. The gauge (red below 50 bar) addresses the visual warning request while the regular warning device, placed in the demand valve in ourSCBA sets, addresses the audible one.
Please consider that in the last amendment of the directive 96/98/CE (2013/35/EU MED 9th amendment, annex A.1) the following test standard are mentioned for SCBAs (point 3.7):

• EN 136 (1998)
• EN 137 (2006) And where the apparatus is used for accident with cargo:
• ISO 23269-3 (2011) SPASCIANI MED certified SCBAs are in line with all the above requirements; these standards are mentioned on the back plate labels of our SCBAs. Moreover it is possible to find our approved products on the MarED Product Database.

From a more practical point of view the difference between a Type 1 and a Type 2 SCBA lies only in the material of which the harnesses are made of. Type 2 has a better resistance to direct flames as it is made of paraaramidic materials. Type 1 is fire resistant as well although to a lower degree, it would withstand direct flames for a shorter amount of time.

It is to be considered that the Type 1 SCBAs have been used by firefighters with no issues up to 2006 when the EN 137 standard for land used SCBA was updated creating a differentiation in applications.

In fact in 2006 was introduced for SCBAs for firefighting the test “Flash Over”, where the SCBA is put in a cabin at 80 C° for 15 minutes and than burned by direct flames at 1.000 C° for 10 seconds. At the end of the test the SCBA is dropped on the ground. All through this the SCBA has to perform as usual. This is the onlytest that differentiates the 2 models, the Type 1 is tested against flames with slightly lighter tests where all its parts are exposed to direct flames produced by bunsen.

Annexure 1 – Med standards -1-

The replacement is suggested at any time should the tightness test, that shall be performed prior to use, show a leak and at any rate at least every two years of use. Stored masks do not need replacing. To perform the operation please follow the instructions given in the Information Notice..

A second man can be fed with Spasciani MK2 Breathing apparatus in one of the following ways:

A) By means of  the automatic four way valve which can also be used to connect to an alternative compressed air source.

B) Using the second man outlet, normally plugged, located on the reducer.

A

B

All our breathing apparatus are equipped with a warning device which alerts the wearer when the air pressure inside the cylinder drops below 55+/-5 bar (For wheeled apparatus model RC 35 bars). The alarm of our SCBA is not a conventional whistle.

Our alarm is located in the demand valve and the whistle depends on the respiration of the wearer. When the alarm condition occurs (50-55 bar in the cylinder), the wearer will hear a whistle at the mask at every inhalation. Please note following instruction for checking the audible warning on our B.A. sets:

1. Open the cylinder valve and pressurise the set (with the demand valve not connected to the mask and the valve locker -red button- of the demand valve pushed-in.
2. Shut the cylinder valve.
3. With the palm of your hand keep the demand valve outlet shut and release then the valve locker (17) by acting on the rubber button in front of the demand valve (4). Vent the air off slowly. At a pressure reading of approx. 55+/-5 bar release the air with quick and intermittent movements of the hand. A sounding vibration shall then be heard, it will end when the air has been completely vented off. (P.S.: it is advisable to vent the air off very slowly and wait few seconds at 55 bar.
4. Re-lock button (17).

For any further information please refer to the instruction booklet and see the video herewith attached. (If the video does not open please click here to watch it directly on YouTube)

Spasciani guarantees a shelf life of five years for all its gas filters and ten for its particle ones starting from the date of manufacture. The expiry date is stamped on the packing and on the label next to a special pictogram (hourglass). Further information in the informative notice that come with every pack of product.

Spasciani’s filters have plastic housing because plastic has a better mechanical and chemical resistance to agressive substances.

Spasciani manufacture plastic housing filters since more than 20 years. Before they used to manufacture them in aluminium as many manufacturers still do today.

The reason for that choice is due to the resistance of the plastic used to the chemicals with which the charcoal is impregnated. With ageing, in fact, even if one coats the aluminium surface, an electro-chemical reaction starts, which causes the corrosion of the housing. In some cases you can reach a pass through corrosion particularly with partially used filters where the reaction is enhanced by the moisture and corrosive gases absorbed by the charcoal. The picture shows the corrosive action inside a competitor’s new filter, still having three years shelf life to go.

Another reason for choosing plastic is the resistance to strokes. A metal filter with a dented thread cannot be used any more. This cannot happen with plastic ones as they cannot be deformed.

Shocks on plastic filters do not cause reduction in performances due to the perfect filling which exceeds the Rough Usage tests prescribed by EN14387.