No products in the basket.
Important Safety Update on Select 3M Breathing Tubes: Your Safety is Our Priority
At Beacon International, the safety and satisfaction of our customers stand at the forefront of our priorities. We are committed to keeping you informed about the latest updates from our trusted suppliers. Today, we wish to bring to your attention a critical safety update from our partner, 3M.
The Issue at a Glance
3M’s Personal Safety Division has noticed that a limited batch of specific breathing tubes might have been shipped damaged. The affected breathing tubes are listed below:
- 3MTM Heavy Duty Breathing Tubes (SC-BT-56-ASB, SC-BT-56-ASB-L, SS-BT-55, SC-BT-55-L, SS-BT-44, SC-BT-44-L)
These tubes were included in specific Powered Air Respirator kits or sold separately as replacement parts.
Ensuring Safety Standards
To gauge the potential impact on safety, 3M conducted tests in accordance with relevant European standards. The tests revealed that despite the identified issue, these systems maintained their respective safety classifications as specified in the product user instructions.
The affected breathing tubes were tested under two scenarios: with loose-fitting helmets or hoods and with tight-fitting masks. In both configurations, the systems complied with their respective safety classifications.
To assess the potential impact of the issue on safety, affected tubes were tested to the appropriate European standards.
Powered filtering devices incorporating a helmet or a hood (“Loose fitting”): When tested to EN 12941:1998+A2:2008 for these systems, they continued to meet their TH classifications as stated in their user instructions.
Powered filtering devices incorporating a mask (“Tight fitting”): When affected tubes were tested in “power-on” mode” with masks to the European standard EN 12942:2008+A2:2008, they continued to meet the TM3 classification.
When tested in “power-off” mode to the European standard EN 12942:1998+A2:2008, they provided protection to the TM2 classification. Power-off mode may only be used where specified by local regulation
Your Role in Ensuring Safety
As a precaution, we request your collaboration in conducting a thorough check of any 3M breathing tubes in your possession. These checks involve a visual inspection to detect signs of damage, such as tears, holes, or cracks. If you notice any signs of wear or damage, remove the tubes from use immediately.
To aid this process, please follow these steps:
- Bend the tube to ensure it is flexible.
- Inspect thoroughly for any signs of damage.
- Refer to Appendix 2 (available for download below) for examples of damaged tubes.
Damaged tubes should be replaced promptly. Contact us to facilitate this.
Moving Forward with Enhanced Safety Measures
3M has taken decisive actions to prevent this issue from recurring, including introducing additional inspections before products are released to the market. These inspected products will carry a green sticker on the outer shipping case, indicating they have passed the enhanced safety checks. This labelling will be implemented for eight months starting from the date of the notification.
Support and Further Information
We understand that you might have questions or require additional support. For detailed information and to access the appendix containing SKU details and other necessary visuals, please download the official 3M notification from the link below.
Download the 3M Notification and Appendices
We remain at your disposal for any further assistance. Your safety and satisfaction continue to be our utmost priority, and we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.
We appreciate your understanding and continued trust in Beacon International.
Warm regards, The Beacon International Team
