CleanSpace’s innovative respirators are changing the game by reducing heat stress and boosting comfort for miners.
At a sequestered pharmaceutical lab in Europe, assistants would routinely end their shifts feeling drained and exhausted. The unexpected culprit was an innocuous paper face mask, worn for hours on end in a tightly controlled environment.
“They were totally tired,” CleanSpace global technical product director Jon Imms told Safe to Work.
“So we got them to try our product and the feedback that came back was really unusual.”
After long days on the job, many workers said they previously barely had the energy to enjoy the things they cared about most – like spending time with their families. But something changed after switching to a powered air purifying respirator (PAPR).
“We love that we can actually go home at night and play with our kids,” one assistant said, encapsulating CleanSpace’s commitment to ‘freeing the way customers breathe’.
This ethos drives the company’s mission to create small, easy-to-wear respirators that provide protection without sacrificing comfort.
These respirators haven’t just found their footing in clinical and laboratory settings; their impact has been just as profound in mining, where heat, dust and long hours create some of the most challenging working conditions.
On exposed mine sites and underground tunnels, traditional personal protective equipment (PPE) can quickly become hot, humid, uncomfortable and burdensome.
On top of physically demanding work, miners carry heavy equipment, from protective clothing and gear to cap lamps and hand-held equipment, all of which add to their physical load and heat strain.
Traditional respiratory protection can make this worse. Negative pressure masks, like disposable paper masks or elastomeric respirators, trap heat, moisture and carbon dioxide in a small space around the face, creating what Imms calls a “heat sink”.
“It’s like you have a hot and moist micro-environment around your mouth, which can be quite unpleasant,” he said.
This trapped heat and moisture not only cause discomfort but also increase the wearer’s overall heat burden, making it harder to stay cool and focused during long shifts.
While exhalation valves on traditional masks help vent some heat, they can only do so much.
Breathing through these masks also becomes more difficult over time. As filters clog with dust and particles, miners have to work harder to pull air through, accelerating stress.
In contrast, CleanSpace respirators feature a patented AirSensit system that delivers air in response to the wearer’s breathing – automatically adjusting airflow for optimal comfort, reduced heat build-up, and effortless breathing.
While PAPRs might seem like a clear choice for miners, they still aren’t widely used on mine sites.
To understand why, Imms suggests going back to the drawing board and examining the bulky and heavy configuration of these systems. Most mainstream PAPRs on the market are too cumbersome and impractical for daily use, he said.
“In some cases, it looks like operators are carrying a vacuum cleaner on their backs,” he said.
The weight distribution also makes tasks more physically demanding, especially in confined spaces or when frequently climbing in and out of vehicles.
“It might offer protection, but it slows you down and wears you out,” Imms said.
“That’s why, in some cases, workers will revert back to negative pressure masks, despite the heat and discomfort, because they feel they can move more freely.”
Here’s where CleanSpace said it sets itself apart from the rest.
By removing the belts, hoses and bulk, its compact PAPR design delivers the same level of respiratory protection but in a lightweight, ergonomic package that’s far better suited for active mining environments. For miners, it represents a smarter solution that doesn’t wear them down with added gear.
CleanSpace respirators essentially also streamline the backend logistics. With fewer parts to clean, charge, and store, they’re easier for teams to manage on-site, reducing downtime and ensuring consistent compliance with safety protocols.
“We are the lightest and easiest respirator out there; it’s a no-brainer,” Imms said.
With systems that buckle down on both the physical and operational barriers that have historically held PAPR adoption back, CleanSpace is helping mines rethink what respiratory protection can, and should, look like.
This feature appeared in the November-December edition of Safe to Work.