Respirator and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Safety Requirements

This document outlines the safety requirements for respirators and other personal protective equipment (PPE) as mandated by OSHA and NIOSH standards. It covers essential aspects such as respirator selection, medical evaluations, fit testing, proper use, maintenance, and storage. Additionally, it addresses the requirements for establishing and maintaining a comprehensive respiratory protection program.

Respirator Program Requirements

Written Respiratory Protection Program

Employers must establish and implement a written respiratory protection program with worksite-specific procedures where respirators are necessary to protect employee health or are required by the employer. The program must be updated as necessary to reflect changes in workplace conditions that affect respirator use. The program should include procedures for: [3]

• Selecting respirators for use in the workplace.
• Conducting medical evaluations of employees required to use respirators.
• Performing fit testing procedures for tight-fitting respirators.
• Ensuring proper use of respirators in routine and reasonably foreseeable emergency situations.
• Establishing procedures and schedules for cleaning, disinfecting, storing, inspecting, repairing, discarding, and otherwise maintaining respirators.
• Ensuring adequate air quality, quantity, and flow of breathing air for atmosphere-supplying respirators.
• Training employees in respiratory hazards to which they are potentially exposed during routine and emergency situations.
• Training employees in the proper use of respirators, including putting on and removing them, any limitations on their use, and their maintenance.
• Regularly evaluating the effectiveness of the program.

[3] [3] [3] [3] [3] [3] [3] [3] [3]

Program Administration

The employer must designate a program administrator qualified by appropriate training or experience to administer or oversee the respiratory protection program and conduct required evaluations of program effectiveness. The employer shall provide respirators, training, and medical evaluations at no cost to the employee. [3] [3]

Voluntary Use of Respirators

If an employer allows employees to use their own respirators when respirator use is not required, the employer must ensure that such use does not create a hazard. The employer must provide users with the information contained in Appendix D of OSHA standard 1910.134 and implement elements of a written respiratory protection program to ensure that employees are medically able to use the respirator and that the respirator is cleaned, stored, and maintained properly. However, a written program is not required for employees using only filtering facepieces (dust masks) voluntarily. [3] [3] [3] [3]

Respirator Selection

General Requirements

Employers are required to select and provide an appropriate respirator based on the respiratory hazards to which the worker is exposed, as well as workplace and user factors that affect respirator performance and reliability. The selected respirator must be NIOSH-certified and used in compliance with the conditions of its certification. Employers must identify and evaluate respiratory hazards in the workplace, including a reasonable estimate of employee exposures and identification of the contaminant's chemical state and physical form. If the employer cannot identify or reasonably estimate employee exposure, the atmosphere should be considered Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (IDLH). Respirators should be selected from a sufficient number of models and sizes to ensure they are acceptable to and correctly fit the user. [3] [3] [3] [3] [3] [3]

Respirators for IDLH Atmospheres

For employee use in IDLH atmospheres, employers must provide either a full facepiece pressure demand SCBA (Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus) certified by NIOSH with a minimum service life of 30 minutes or a combination full facepiece pressure demand supplied-air respirator (SAR) with an auxiliary self-contained air supply. Respirators provided only for escape from IDLH atmospheres must be NIOSH-certified for escape from the atmosphere in which they will be used. All oxygen-deficient atmospheres are considered IDLH unless the employer can demonstrate that oxygen concentration can be maintained within the ranges specified in Table II of the standard. [3] [3] [3] [3] [3]

Respirators for Non-IDLH Atmospheres

For atmospheres that are not IDLH, the employer must provide a respirator adequate to protect the employee's health and ensure compliance with all other OSHA statutory and regulatory requirements, under routine and reasonably foreseeable emergency situations. [3]

Assigned Protection Factors (APFs)

Employers must use the assigned protection factors (APFs) to select a respirator that meets or exceeds the required level of employee protection. When using a combination respirator (e.g., airline respirators with an air-purifying filter), employers must ensure that the assigned protection factor is appropriate to the mode of operation in which the respirator is being used. [3] [3]

Maximum Use Concentration (MUC)

The employer must select a respirator that maintains the employee's exposure to the hazardous substance, when measured outside the respirator, at or below the MUC. MUCs must not be applied to conditions that are immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH); instead, respirators listed for IDLH conditions in paragraph (d)(2) of this standard must be used. When the calculated MUC exceeds the IDLH level for a hazardous substance, or the performance limits of the cartridge or canister, then employers must set the maximum MUC at that lower limit. [6] [6] [6]

Specific Contaminant Requirements

The respirator selected shall be appropriate for the chemical state and physical form of the contaminant. For protection against gases and vapors, the employer shall provide an atmosphere-supplying respirator or an air-purifying respirator, provided that the respirator is equipped with a NIOSH-certified end-of-service-life indicator (ESLI) for the contaminant, or if there is no ESLI, the employer implements a change schedule for canisters and cartridges based on objective information or data. For protection against particulates, the employer shall provide an atmosphere-supplying respirator or an air-purifying respirator equipped with a NIOSH-certified HEPA filter or a filter certified for particulates by NIOSH. For contaminants consisting primarily of particles with mass median aerodynamic diameters (MMAD) of at least 2 micrometers, an air- purifying respirator equipped with any filter certified for particulates by NIOSH may be used. [6] [6] [6] [7] [7]

Medical Evaluation

General Requirements

Employers must provide a medical evaluation to determine an employee's ability to use a respirator before fit testing or requiring the employee to use a respirator in the workplace. Medical evaluations may be discontinued when the employee is no longer required to use a respirator. [7] [7]

Medical Evaluation Procedures

The employer shall identify a physician or other licensed health care professional (PLHCP) to perform medical evaluations using a medical questionnaire or an initial medical examination that obtains the same information as the medical questionnaire. The medical evaluation shall obtain the information requested by the questionnaire in Sections 1 and 2, Part A of Appendix C of this section. [7] [7]

Fit Testing

Fit Testing Procedures

Before an employee is required to use any respirator with a tight-fitting facepiece, the employee must be fit tested with the same make, model, style, and size of respirator that will be used. Employers must conduct an initial fit test before an employee uses a respirator in the workplace and whenever a different respirator facepiece (size, style, model or make) is used, or when changes in the employee's physical condition could affect respirator fit. The fit test must be administered using an OSHA-accepted qualitative or quantitative fit test protocol. Fit tests must be conducted at least annually.

Fit Testing for Atmosphere-Supplying Respirators and PAPRs

Qualitative fit testing of atmosphere-supplying respirators and PAPRs (powered air-purifying respirators) shall be accomplished by temporarily converting the respirator user's actual facepiece into a negative pressure respirator with appropriate filters, or by using an identical negative pressure air-purifying respirator facepiece with the same sealing surfaces as a surrogate for the atmosphere-supplying or powered air-purifying respirator facepiece. Quantitative fit testing of these respirators shall be accomplished by modifying the facepiece to allow sampling inside the facepiece in the breathing zone of the user, midway between the nose and mouth. Any modifications to the respirator facepiece for fit testing shall be completely removed, and the facepiece restored to NIOSH-approved configuration, before that facepiece can be used in the workplace. [2] [2] [2]

Respirator Use

Facepiece Seal Protection

The employer shall not permit respirators with tight-fitting facepieces to be worn by employees who have facial hair that comes between the sealing surface of the facepiece and the face or that interferes with valve function, or any condition that interferes with the face-to-facepiece seal or valve function. If an employee wears corrective glasses or goggles or other personal protective equipment, the employer shall ensure that such equipment is worn in a manner that does not interfere with the seal of the facepiece to the face of the user. For all tight-fitting respirators, the employer shall ensure that employees perform a user seal check each time they put on the respirator using the procedures in Appendix B-1 or procedures recommended by the respirator manufacturer that the employer demonstrates are as effective as those in Appendix B-1 of this section. [2] [2] [2]

Respirator Maintenance

Cleaning and Disinfecting

Respirators must be cleaned and disinfected regularly.

Inspection

Respirators must be inspected before each use and during cleaning. Respirators maintained for emergency use must be inspected at least monthly. Air and oxygen cylinders shall be maintained in a fully charged state and shall be recharged when the pressure falls to 90 percent of the manufacturer's recommended pressure level. The employer shall determine that the regulator and warning devices function properly. For respirators maintained for emergency use, the employer shall certify the respirator by documenting the date the inspection was performed, the name (or signature) of the person who made the inspection, the findings, required remedial action, and a serial number or other means of identifying the inspected respirator and provide this information on a tag or label that is attached to the storage compartment for the respirator, is kept with the respirator, or is included in inspection reports stored as paper or electronic files. This information shall be maintained until replaced following a subsequent certification. [4] [4] [4]

Repairs

Respirators that fail an inspection or are otherwise found to be defective must be removed from service and discarded, repaired, or adjusted. Repairs or adjustments to respirators are to be made only by persons appropriately trained to perform such operations, using only the respirator manufacturer's NIOSH-approved parts designed for the respirator. Repairs shall be made according to the manufacturer's recommendations and specifications. Reducing and admission valves, regulators, and alarms shall be adjusted or repaired only by the manufacturer or a technician trained by the manufacturer. [4] [4] [4] [4]

Breathing Air Quality and Use

Employers must provide employees using atmosphere-supplying respirators (supplied-air and SCBA) with breathing gases of high purity. Compressed and liquid oxygen shall meet the United States Pharmacopoeia requirements for medical or breathing oxygen. Compressed breathing air shall meet at least the requirements for Grade D breathing air described in ANSI/Compressed Gas Association Commodity Specification for Air, G-7.1-1989, including: [4] [4] [4]

For oil-lubricated compressors, the employer shall use a high-temperature or carbon monoxide alarm, or both, to monitor carbon monoxide levels. If only high- temperature alarms are used, the air supply shall be monitored at intervals sufficient to prevent carbon monoxide in the breathing air from exceeding 10 ppm. Breathing air couplings must be incompatible with outlets for non-respirable worksite air or other gas systems, and no asphyxiating substance shall be introduced into breathing air lines. The employer shall use only the respirator manufacturer's NIOSH-approved breathing-gas containers, marked and maintained in accordance with the Quality Assurance provisions of the NIOSH approval for the SCBA as issued in accordance with the NIOSH respirator-certification standard at 42 CFR part 84. [5] [5] [5] [5] [5]

Filter, Cartridge, and Canister Identification

The employer shall ensure that all filters, cartridges, and canisters used in the workplace are labeled and color-coded with the NIOSH approval label, and that the label is not removed and remains legible. [5]

Training and Information

Employers must provide effective training to employees who are required to use respirators. The training must be comprehensive, understandable, and recur annually, and more often if necessary. The employer shall ensure that each employee can demonstrate knowledge of at least the following: [5] [5]

• Why the respirator is necessary and how improper fit, usage, or maintenance can compromise the protective effect of the respirator.
• What the limitations and capabilities of the respirator are.
• How to use the respirator effectively in emergency situations, including situations in which the respirator malfunctions.
• How to inspect, put on and remove, use, and check the seals of the respirator.
• What the procedures are for maintenance and storage of the respirator.
• How to recognize medical signs and symptoms that may limit or prevent the effective use of respirators.
• The general requirements of this section.

[5] [5] [5] [5] [5] [5] [5] The training shall be conducted in a manner that is understandable to the employee. [5]

Voluntary Use Information

If your employer provides respirators for your voluntary use, or if you provide your own respirator, you need to take certain precautions to be sure that the respirator itself does not present a hazard. You should read and heed all instructions provided by the manufacturer on use, maintenance, cleaning and care, and warnings regarding the respirator's limitations. Choose respirators certified for use to protect against the contaminant of concern. NIOSH, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, certifies respirators. A label or statement of certification should appear on the respirator or respirator packaging. It will tell you what the respirator is designed for and how much it will protect you. Do not wear your respirator into atmospheres containing contaminants for which your respirator is not designed to protect against. Keep track of your respirator so that you do not mistakenly use someone else's respirator. [1] [1] [1] [1] [1] [1]

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