Respiratory Protection

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## 29 CFR 1910 (OSHA) High efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter means a filter that is at least 99.97% efficient in removing monodisperse particles of 0.3 micrometers in diameter. The equivalent NIOSH 42 CFR 84 particulate filters are the N100, R100, and P100 filters. Hood means a respiratory inlet covering that completely covers the head and neck and may also cover portions of the shoulders and torso. Immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH) means an atmosphere that poses an immediate threat to life, would cause irreversible adverse health effects, or would impair an individual's ability to escape from a dangerous atmosphere. Interior structural firefighting means the physical activity of fire suppression, rescue or both, inside of buildings or enclosed structures which are involved in a fire situation beyond the incipient stage. (See 29 CFR 1910.155) Loose-fitting facepiece means a respiratory inlet covering that is designed to form a partial seal with the face. Maximum use concentration (MUC) means the maximum atmospheric concentration of a hazardous substance from which an employee can be expected to be protected when wearing a respirator, and is determined by the assigned protection factor of the respirator or class of respirators and the exposure limit of the hazardous substance. The MUC can be determined mathematically by multiplying the assigned protection factor specified for a respirator by the required OSHA permissible exposure limit, short-term exposure limit, or ceiling limit. When no OSHA exposure limit is available for a hazardous substance, an employer must determine an MUC on the basis of relevant available information and informed professional judgment. Negative pressure respirator (tight fitting) means a respirator in which the air pressure inside the facepiece is negative during inhalation with respect to the ambient air pressure outside the respirator. Oxygen deficient atmosphere means an atmosphere with an oxygen content below…

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## 29 CFR 1910 (OSHA) - (v) Procedures and schedules for cleaning, disinfecting, storing, inspecting, repairing, discarding, and otherwise maintaining respirators; - (vi) Procedures to ensure adequate air quality, quantity, and flow of breathing air for atmospheresupplying respirators; - (vii) Training of employees in the respiratory hazards to which they are potentially exposed during routine and emergency situations; - (viii) Training of employees in the proper use of respirators, including putting on and removing them, any limitations on their use, and their maintenance; and - (ix) Procedures for regularly evaluating the effectiveness of the program. - (2) Where respirator use is not required: - (i) An employer may provide respirators at the request of employees or permit employees to use their own respirators, if the employer determines that such respirator use will not in itself create a hazard. If the employer determines that any voluntary respirator use is permissible, the employer shall provide the respirator users with the information contained in appendix D to this section ('Information for Employees Using Respirators When Not Required Under the Standard'); and - (ii) In addition, the employer must establish and implement those elements of a written respiratory protection program necessary to ensure that any employee using a respirator voluntarily is medically able to use that respirator, and that the respirator is cleaned, stored, and maintained so that its use does not present a health hazard to the user. Exception: Employers are not required to include in a written respiratory protection program those employees whose only use of respirators involves the voluntary use of filtering facepieces (dust masks). - (3) The employer shall designate a program administrator who is qualified by appropriate training or experience that is commensurate with the complexity of the program to administer or oversee the respiratory protection program and conduct the requir…

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## 29 CFR 1910 (OSHA) - (B) If they detect vapor or gas breakthrough, changes in breathing resistance, or leakage of the facepiece; or - (C) To replace the respirator or the filter, cartridge, or canister elements. - (iii) If the employee detects vapor or gas breakthrough, changes in breathing resistance, or leakage of the facepiece, the employer must replace or repair the respirator before allowing the employee to return to the work area. - (3) Procedures for IDLH atmospheres. For all IDLH atmospheres, the employer shall ensure that: - (i) One employee or, when needed, more than one employee is located outside the IDLH atmosphere; - (ii) Visual, voice, or signal line communication is maintained between the employee(s) in the IDLH atmosphere and the employee(s) located outside the IDLH atmosphere; - (iii) The employee(s) located outside the IDLH atmosphere are trained and equipped to provide effective emergency rescue; - (iv) The employer or designee is notified before the employee(s) located outside the IDLH atmosphere enter the IDLH atmosphere to provide emergency rescue; - (v) The employer or designee authorized to do so by the employer, once notified, provides necessary assistance appropriate to the situation; - (vi) Employee(s) located outside the IDLH atmospheres are equipped with: - (A) Pressure demand or other positive pressure SCBAs, or a pressure demand or other positive pressure supplied-air respirator with auxiliary SCBA; and either - (B) Appropriate retrieval equipment for removing the employee(s) who enter(s) these hazardous atmospheres where retrieval equipment would contribute to the rescue of the employee(s) and would not increase the overall risk resulting from entry; or - (C) Equivalent means for rescue where retrieval equipment is not required under paragraph (g)(3)(vi)(B). - (4) Procedures for interior structural firefighting. In addition to the requirements set forth under paragraph (g)(3), in interior structural fires, the employer shall ensu…

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## 29 CFR 1910 (OSHA) - (i) Qualitative fit testing of these 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. - (ii) 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. This requirement shall be accomplished by installing a permanent sampling probe onto a surrogate facepiece, or by using a sampling adapter designed to temporarily provide a means of sampling air from inside the facepiece. - (iii) 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. - (g) Use of respirators. This paragraph requires employers to establish and implement procedures for the proper use of respirators. These requirements include prohibiting conditions that may result in facepiece seal leakage, preventing employees from removing respirators in hazardous environments, taking actions to ensure continued effective respirator operation throughout the work shift, and establishing procedures for the use of respirators in IDLH atmospheres or in interior structural firefighting situations. - (1) Facepiece seal protection. (i) The employer shall not permit respirators with tight-fitting facepieces to be worn by employees who have: - (A) Facial hair that comes between the sealing surface of the facepiece and the face or that interferes with valve function; or - (B) Any condition that interferes with the face-to-facepiece seal or valve function. - (ii) If an employee wears corrective glasses or gogg…

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## OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY, 2020 ## Working in dangerous atmospheres - 7-5 (1) If a worker is required to enter an atmosphere that is immediately dangerous to the life or health of the worker, an employer or contractor shall ensure that the worker is provided with and uses an approved atmosphere-supplying respirator that is: - (a) an open-circuit SCBA that: - (i) operates in a pressure demand or other positive pressure mode; - (ii) has a minimum rated capacity of 30 minutes; - (iii) is sufficiently charged to enable the worker to perform the work safely; and - (iv) is equipped with a low-pressure warning device or an escape respirator; - (b) an airline respirator equipped with a full facepiece that: - (i) operates in a pressure demand or other positive pressure mode; and - (ii) has an auxiliary supply of air sufficient to allow the worker to escape in case of failure of the primary air supply equipment; or - (c) a closed-circuit SCBA. - (2) If a worker is required to enter an atmosphere that is immediately dangerous to life or health, an employer or contractor shall ensure that: - (a) a second worker, suitably equipped and trained, is present and in communication with the worker at all times; and - (b) suitably equipped personnel who are trained in rescue procedures and are fully informed of the hazards are readily available to rescue the endangered worker immediately if the worker's atmosphere-supplying respirator fails or the worker becomes incapacitated for any other reason. - (3) An employer or contractor shall ensure that compressed air in an atmosphere-supplying respirator used by a worker in an atmosphere that is immediately dangerous to the worker's life or health meets the purity requirements set out in Table 2 of the Canadian Standards Association standard CAN Z180.1-M85 Compressed Breathing Air and Systems . 31 Dec 2020 c S-15.1 Reg 10 s7-5. ## Protective headwear - 7-6 (1) If there is a risk of injury to…

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<!-- image --> (iii) When an employee whose job requires the use of a respirator cannot use a negative-pressure respirator, the employer must provide the employee with a respirator that has less breathing resistance than the negative-pressure respirator, such as a powered air-purifying respirator or supplied-air respirator, when the employee is able to use it and if it provides the employee adequate protection. ## Table 1. - Minimum Requirements for Respiratory Protection for Airborne BD - (i) Protective clothing and equipment. Where appropriate to prevent eye contact and limit dermal exposure to BD, the employer shall provide protective clothing and equipment at no cost to the employee and shall ensure its use. Eye and face protection shall meet the requirements of OAR [redacted phone](8).

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## 29 CFR 1910 (OSHA) - * As a rule of thumb, start with a shade that is too dark to see the weld zone. Then go to a lighter shade which gives sufficient view of the weld zone without going below the minimum. In oxyfuel gas welding or cutting where the torch produces a high yellow light, it is desirable to use a filter lens that absorbs the yellow or sodium line in the visible light of the (spectrum) operation. - ** These values apply where the actual arc is clearly seen. Experience has shown that lighter filters may be used when the arc is hidden by the workpiece. - (b) Criteria for protective eye and face protection. (1) Protective eye and face protection devices must comply with any of the following consensus standards: - (i) ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2010, Occupational and Educational Personal Eye and Face Protection Devices, incorporated by reference in §1910.6; - (ii) ANSI Z87.1-2003, Occupational and Educational Personal Eye and Face Protection Devices, incorporated by reference in §1910.6; or - (iii) ANSI Z87.1-1989 (R-1998), Practice for Occupational and Educational Eye and Face Protection, incorporated by reference in §1910.6; - (2) Protective eye and face protection devices that the employer demonstrates are at least as effective as protective eye and face protection devices that are constructed in accordance with one of the above consensus standards will be deemed to be in compliance with the requirements of this section. - [59 FR [redacted postal code], Apr. 6, 1994; 59 FR [redacted postal code], July 1, 1994, as amended at 61 FR 9238, Mar. 7, 1996; 61 FR [redacted postal code], May 2, 1996; 74 FR [redacted postal code], Sept. 9, 2009; 81 FR [redacted postal code], Mar. 25, 2016] ## §1910.134 Respiratory protection. This section applies to General Industry (part 1910), Shipyards (part 1915), Marine Terminals (part 1917), Longshoring (part 1918), and Construction (part 1926). - (a) Permissible practice. (1) In the control of those occupational diseases cause…

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## 29 CFR 1910 (OSHA) - (3) The employer shall provide the training prior to requiring the employee to use a respirator in the workplace. - (4) An employer who is able to demonstrate that a new employee has received training within the last 12 months that addresses the elements specified in paragraph (k)(1)(i) through (vii) is not required to repeat such training provided that, as required by paragraph (k)(1), the employee can demonstrate knowledge of those element(s). Previous training not repeated initially by the employer must be provided no later than 12 months from the date of the previous training. - (5) Retraining shall be administered annually, and when the following situations occur: - (i) Changes in the workplace or the type of respirator render previous training obsolete; - (ii) Inadequacies in the employee's knowledge or use of the respirator indicate that the employee has not retained the requisite understanding or skill; or - (iii) Any other situation arises in which retraining appears necessary to ensure safe respirator use. - (6) The basic advisory information on respirators, as presented in appendix D of this section, shall be provided by the employer in any written or oral format, to employees who wear respirators when such use is not required by this section or by the employer. - (l) Program evaluation. This section requires the employer to conduct evaluations of the workplace to ensure that the written respiratory protection program is being properly implemented, and to consult employees to ensure that they are using the respirators properly. - (1) The employer shall conduct evaluations of the workplace as necessary to ensure that the provisions of the current written program are being effectively implemented and that it continues to be effective. - (2) The employer shall regularly consult employees required to use respirators to assess the employees' views on program effectiveness and to identify any problems. Any problems that are identified d…