Dracula
Package Car is cake compared to this...
I did the gravel route for about two years. I had to buy one of those N90 respirator masks and it worked great, but man, it was hot. I was stunned that I was the first driver who ever wore a mask on this route. To be honest, I never even thought to file a grievance. I just protected myself.
The route I had was about 70/30 gravel to pavement. The roads I drove on were 55MPH for the most part. I would drive down a gravel road, stop and open my bulkhead door and the entire package area literally looked cloudy with dust. Everything in that truck always had a thick coat of dust, and I do mean everything. I always put my lunch box and water jug in a DR bag to keep the dust from them. When I first got that route, I would have the car washers spray the inside of the truck with the power washer. But the next day it would be covered again.
I was always anal about the dust, so I tried about every trick I could think of to minimize the dust. I'm guessing with the FOBs that you couldn't get away with this, and they probably would fire you if they knew, but by noon on this route I had, they truck was over half empty. So one thing I did was push all of the packages to the front of the truck and drive down the gravel roads with my back door, bulkhead door and my cab doors open. What this did was create a sort of vacuum from the back doors and blew all of the air out the cab doors. So when I stopped, the dust was gone. Obviously, this only worked on roads with little to no traffic.
Also, I tried running with the cab doors both open and shut. With the doors open, you get more dust in the cab, but in is considerably cooler. And with the doors shut, you still get a lot of dust in the cab, along with the oven-like temperatures. So I just ran with the doors open and my goggles and mask on. I never even messed with a fan, because that was like spitting into the wind.
I wish you luck on filing your grievances, and support you, but these trucks just aren't sealed airtight. The way they are built, I can't imagine how they would do it. The route I had before this dust route had a industrial supply company that I was real friendly with. I told them I was getting a new country route, and before I left, they gave me a big box of those N90 masks. And they are not cheap. I think home improvement stores sell them for $4 a pair. And they are not the flimsy ones with just one strap. The N90 masks have two rubber straps that form a really tight seal around your nose and mouth. They can take a while to get used to, and they are hot to wear in the summer, but you won't breath dust with one on. Period. They work.
I can't tell you what to do, but I would try OSHA first. I just can't imagine they are going to make UPS seal the package car airtight. But I would file a grievance, in the very least, to get UPS to pay for all of the N90 masks you'll ever need. There is no reason why they shouldn't.
Good luck.
The route I had was about 70/30 gravel to pavement. The roads I drove on were 55MPH for the most part. I would drive down a gravel road, stop and open my bulkhead door and the entire package area literally looked cloudy with dust. Everything in that truck always had a thick coat of dust, and I do mean everything. I always put my lunch box and water jug in a DR bag to keep the dust from them. When I first got that route, I would have the car washers spray the inside of the truck with the power washer. But the next day it would be covered again.
I was always anal about the dust, so I tried about every trick I could think of to minimize the dust. I'm guessing with the FOBs that you couldn't get away with this, and they probably would fire you if they knew, but by noon on this route I had, they truck was over half empty. So one thing I did was push all of the packages to the front of the truck and drive down the gravel roads with my back door, bulkhead door and my cab doors open. What this did was create a sort of vacuum from the back doors and blew all of the air out the cab doors. So when I stopped, the dust was gone. Obviously, this only worked on roads with little to no traffic.
Also, I tried running with the cab doors both open and shut. With the doors open, you get more dust in the cab, but in is considerably cooler. And with the doors shut, you still get a lot of dust in the cab, along with the oven-like temperatures. So I just ran with the doors open and my goggles and mask on. I never even messed with a fan, because that was like spitting into the wind.
I wish you luck on filing your grievances, and support you, but these trucks just aren't sealed airtight. The way they are built, I can't imagine how they would do it. The route I had before this dust route had a industrial supply company that I was real friendly with. I told them I was getting a new country route, and before I left, they gave me a big box of those N90 masks. And they are not cheap. I think home improvement stores sell them for $4 a pair. And they are not the flimsy ones with just one strap. The N90 masks have two rubber straps that form a really tight seal around your nose and mouth. They can take a while to get used to, and they are hot to wear in the summer, but you won't breath dust with one on. Period. They work.
I can't tell you what to do, but I would try OSHA first. I just can't imagine they are going to make UPS seal the package car airtight. But I would file a grievance, in the very least, to get UPS to pay for all of the N90 masks you'll ever need. There is no reason why they shouldn't.
Good luck.
for keeping you cool.
