Mine Safety Appliances, or MSA Safety Incorporated, is an American manufacturer and supplier of safety equipment designed for use in a variety of hazardous conditions in industries such as construction, the military, fire service, and chemical, oil, and gas production. MSA is based in the

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

suburb of

Cranberry Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus ''Vaccinium''. Cranberries are low, creeping shrubs or vines up to long and in height; they have slender stems that are not th ...

.Yahoo Finance.
Mine Safety Appliances Co. (MSA)
" Retrieved Jan 10, 2013. Best known for its

Bakelite Bakelite ( ), formally , is a thermosetting polymer, thermosetting phenol formaldehyde resin, formed from a condensation reaction of phenol with formaldehyde. The first plastic made from synthetic components, it was developed by Belgian chemist ...

''Skullgard''

hard hat A hard hat is a type of helmet predominantly used in hazardous environments such as industrial or construction sites to protect the Human head, head from injury due to falling objects (such as tools and debris), impact with other objects, and ...

, the company’s product line includes gas monitoring and detection instruments, filter-type respirators, gas masks, breathing apparatus used by firefighters, thermal imaging cameras, firefighter helmets, ballistic body armor, military communications systems, a broad range of industrial head and fall protection products, and safety products for Do-It-Yourself consumers.The Wall Street Journal.
Mine Safety Appliances Co.
" Retrieved Feb 28, 2013.Bloomberg Businessweek.
Mine Safety Appliances Co (MSA:New York)
" Retrieved Feb 28, 2013. MSA was founded in 1914 after development of the Edison Safety Mining Lamp by mining engineer John T. Ryan Sr. and George H. Deike with help from

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...

following a terrible mine explosion in West Virginia in 1912. The mining lamp was a battery-powered headlamp for miners to help prevent

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The abundance of methane on Earth makes ...

-related explosions caused by open flame lamps. Since the turn of the 21st Century, MSA has seen record sales. Only a small portion of the company's current products involve mining related products. The company’s competitors include Industrial Scientific Corporation,

RAE Systems RAE Systems, Inc., or RAE System by Honeywell, is a provider of wireless, gas and radiation detection instruments and systems that enable real-time safety and security threat detection to help mitigate risk, and protect workers, contractors, the ...

and Dräger. The corporation's assets are managed through two business segments: MSA North America and MSA International. MSA has sales and manufacturing operations throughout the world and sells products to customers in more than 140 countries. While the majority of MSA's products are available only through distributors, the company does sell head, eye, ear, respiratory and body protection products to individuals through a variety of hardware and home center retail outlets.

Breathing Apparatus

Mine Safety Appliances Co. has been manufacturing oxygen breathing apparatus for decades. Their "Chemox" chemical

rebreather A rebreather is a breathing apparatus that absorbs the carbon dioxide of a user's exhaled breath to permit the rebreathing (recycling) of the substantial unused oxygen content, and unused inert content when present, of each breath. Oxygen is a ...

, primarily designed for use in mines, has been modified for use on

Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...

in 1952 and 1986. They are stated to be simple in construction and operation. It is essentially a canister of

potassium superoxide Potassium superoxide is an inorganic compound with the formula . It is a yellow paramagnetic solid that decomposes in moist air. It is a rare example of a stable salt of the superoxide anion. It is used as a scrubber, dehumidifier, and gene ...

connected to one-way flow valves to an air bag and thence to the user, as in Rebreathers whose absorbent releases oxygen hereinabove. There are no controls or operable valves of any kind. Breathing rate controls oxygen production. The main disadvantage is the 4-lbs canisters are good for only about 45-minutes of rapid climbing before another canister must be switched in. The canisters supply about 6 hours of sleeping oxygen.

Hard hats

MSA also produces protective hard hats. MSA went on to produce a lighter and more streamlined helmet known as the "Topgard" in the 1960s. MSA brand firefighting helmets were notably used by the

Los Angeles County Fire Department The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) provides firefighting and emergency medical services for the unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County, California, as well as 59 cities through Contract city, contracting, including the city of ...

and were seen regularly on 1970s TV shows. MSA continues to manufacture firefighting protective helmets and in 2000 acquired competitor, Cairns Helmets.

Sites

* MSA Corporate Center – Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania * John T. Ryan Memorial Lab – Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania * Murrysville, Pennsylvania –

Murrysville, Pennsylvania Murrysville is a Home rule municipality (Pennsylvania), home rule municipality in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 21,006 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Greater Pittsburgh, Pit ...

* Jacksonville, North Carolina –

Jacksonville, North Carolina Jacksonville is a city in Onslow County, North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 72,723, which makes Jacksonville the List of municipalities in North Carolina, 14th-most populous city in North Caroli ...

* Lake Forest, California –

Lake Forest, California Lake Forest is a city in Orange County, California, United States. The population was 85,858 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Lake Forest incorporated as a city on December 20, 1991. Prior to incorporation, the community had be ...

* Toronto, Ontario –

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

* Edmonton, Alberta –

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

* MSA General Monitors -

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

, Ireland

Notes

External links

MSA's website
{{Authority control Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Manufacturing companies based in Pennsylvania Manufacturing companies established in 1914 Rebreather makers Industrial breathing sets Mine safety 1914 establishments in Pennsylvania Companies based in Butler County, Pennsylvania Companies in the S&P 400