Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR), 1967-1968

Dublin Core

Title

Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR), 1967-1968

Subject

Burgess, William Alfred 1924-
Air filters
Coke
Lungs
Lung neoplasms
Respiration
Respiratory system

Abstract

Partial powered air purifying respirator, black in color with removable filter. Respirator would have been attached to mask and battery pack. Silver tube extends from unit and there is small area of orange paint on front of respirator. "Ultra Filter" cartridge appears to be later addition to respirator.

Creator

Burgess, William Alfred 1924-
Ultra Filter

Date Created

1967-1968, between

Rights

The Harvard Medical Library does not hold copyright on all the materials in the collection. For use information, contact the Warren Anatomical Museum Curator at chm@hms.harvard.edu

Access Rights

Accessing collections in the Warren Anatomical Museum and the Warren Anatomical Museum archive requires advanced notice. Please submit a request to Public Services at chm@hms.harvard.edu to access the displayed item

Is Part Of

Warren Anatomical Museum: 21597

Format

object

Extent

1 partial respirator

Medium

Respirators

Type

physical object

Identifier

Warren Anatomical Museum Catalog Number: 21597

Provenance

This partial powered air purifying respirator was designed and created by William Burgess between 1967 and 1968. In 1967, William Burgess submitted a proposal, which was quickly accepted, to the American Iron and Steel Institute to design new powered air purifying respirators for use in the coke ovens at steel plants. Coke oven workers exposed to clouds of contaminants produced by super-heating coal were developing lung cancer at ten times a normal rate. Burgess was hired to create respirators that would significantly reduce that rate. Burgess created power packs, filter assemblies, and small fans powered by DC motors with 3.6 volt batteries to connect to half mask respirators that would last a full eight hours per charge. Burgess assembled all one hundred respirators in the basement of his home on a library table he purchased from the Countway Library of Medicine. This partial powered air purifying respirator was donated to the Warren Anatomical Museum by William Burgess in 2015.

Still Image Item Type Metadata

Original Format

Respirator

Physical Dimensions

12 H x 16 W x 16.5 D cm

Files

21597_v3.JPG
PAPR.JPG

Citation

Burgess, William Alfred 1924- and Ultra Filter, “Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR), 1967-1968,” OnView, accessed March 29, 2024, https://collections.countway.harvard.edu/onview/index.php/items/show/17741.