Uploaded November 2012 | Updated September 2026, 23 hours ago
When the United States entered World War I in 1917, the threat of chemical warfare increased the demand for American-made respirators; with this demand came a need to ensure that the respirators were providing the protection that they claimed. The USBM published the first requirements for respirator approval in 1919, Schedules 13 and 14, which were specifically established for self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and gas masks, respectively. Through these schedules, respirator manufacturers could send their product to the USBM for testing and approval. The Bureau of Mines issued its first respirator approval to the Gibbs respirator manufactured by MSA on 15 January 1920. The approval number was BM-1300, for the first SCBA approved under Schedule 13. This respirator, shown in Figure 13, from reference (b), was a closed circuit SCBA which operated on compressed oxygen and a soda lime scrubber to remove carbon dioxide. Following this, other federal respiratory protection standards were developed, leading to the present OSHA respiratory protection standard. In the early days of the Bureau of Mines, mine rescuers were called "helmet men" or "apparatus men." Poisonous gases were a serious danger to rescuers after a mine explosion. Early mine rescue men used the Draeger breathing apparatus imported from Germany, or the Fleuss or "Proto" apparatus imported from England. Development and tests of the Gibbs apparatus were completed by the Bureau of Mines in 1918, and made the United States independent of foreign makers of apparatus. Certificates of rescue training were given to persons who passed a physical examination, showed ability to wear breathing apparatus while doing hard labor in atmospheres containing noxious or irrespirable gases, demonstrated their ability to adjust and take care of breathing apparatus, and perform the duties of rescue men. This is clipped from the 1926 film by the US Bureau of Mines titled, Oxygen Breathing Apparatus, made with the cooperation of the Peabody Coal Company The film shows the kinds of breathing apparatus used in mine rescues and explains their various parts. A mine rescue team explores a mine, testing for low oxygen content and carbon monoxide. The entire film is posted to my channel. This US Bureau of Mines film and many others are available at the US National Archive in College Park, Maryland.
When the United States entered World War I in 1917, the threat of chemical warfare increased the demand for American-made respirators; with this demand came a need to ensure that the respirators were providing the protection that they claimed. The USBM published the first requirements for respirator approval in 1919, Schedules 13 and 14, which were specifically established for self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and gas masks, respectively. Through these schedules, respirator manufacturers could send their product to the USBM for testing and approval. The Bureau of Mines issued its first respirator approval to the Gibbs respirator manufactured by MSA on 15 January 1920. The approval number was BM-1300, for the first SCBA approved under Schedule 13. This respirator, shown in Figure 13, from reference (b), was a closed circuit SCBA which operated on compressed oxygen and a soda lime scrubber to remove carbon dioxide. Following this, other federal respiratory protection standards were developed, leading to the present OSHA respiratory protection standard. In the early days of the Bureau of Mines, mine rescuers were called "helmet men" or "apparatus men." Poisonous gases were a serious danger to rescuers after a mine explosion. Early mine rescue men used the Draeger breathing apparatus imported from Germany, or the Fleuss or "Proto" apparatus imported from England. Development and tests of the Gibbs apparatus were completed by the Bureau of Mines in 1918, and made the United States independent of foreign makers of apparatus. Certificates of rescue training were given to persons who passed a physical examination, showed ability to wear breathing apparatus while doing hard labor in atmospheres containing noxious or irrespirable gases, demonstrated their ability to adjust and take care of breathing apparatus, and perform the duties of rescue men. This is clipped from the 1926 film by the US Bureau of Mines titled, Oxygen Breathing Apparatus, made with the cooperation of the Peabody Coal Company The film shows the kinds of breathing apparatus used in mine rescues and explains their various parts. A mine rescue team explores a mine, testing for low oxygen content and carbon monoxide. The entire film is posted to my channel. This US Bureau of Mines film and many others are available at the US National Archive in College Park, Maryland.
