The best and fastest protection is a personal escape mask that you can wear around your neck, in your pocket, or in a desk drawer. Ideally, this appliance should meet standards for air-purifying breathing apparatus (PPE) and light enough to be worn comfortably in hostile environments while trying to escape life.

The standard PPE surgical masks in Australia is designed to provide a set of requirements that all manufacturers can follow and that buyers from businesses to individuals can easily understand. 

The criteria that must be met by PPE are field of view, resistance to fogging, penetration of chemicals, functional design, ease of use, and durability. This became especially important after the 9/11 attacks when private companies sought protective equipment for their employees that could be used easily and safely with little or no training.

However, in most cases, workers are more likely to experience injuries from work accidents. Most of these injuries involve the respiratory tract and inhalation of fumes, toxic gases from spilled chemicals, or air contaminated from biological hazards.

The Personal Escape Mask is a compact single user PPE kit. The user can quickly put on a mask to avoid local hazards. It's designed with a flexible neck that fits snugly and protects the mouth, nose, lungs, and eyes. 

Personal escape masks are designed as disposable, emergency disposable equipment to get the living out of the danger zone and to a safe, hopefully, predefined meeting place.