Respiratory Protection
Respiratory protection is essential in environments where workers are exposed to respiratory hazards, that is, airborne particles, harmful dusts, or oxygen-deficient atmospheres. An effective respiratory protection program ensures that appropriate respirators—air-purifying respirators or self-contained breathing apparatuses, for instance—are used to safeguard against potential health risks.
Respirators are devices that filter or supply clean breathing air. The spectrum of respirators ranges from simple, disposable filtering facepiece respirators that protect against airborne particles, to complex, reused air-purifying and supplied air respirators that help workers breathe safely in contaminated environments. Hazard-specific selection of the proper respirator is a imperative. The selection and use of respirators must be done in accordance with a properly written respiratory protection program that meets all relevant occupational safety standards to ensure worker safety.
More Information about Respiratory Protection
A comprehensive respiratory protection program includes training, fit testing, and assigned monitoring to ensure compliance with the respiratory protection standard. Even the best respirator is useless if the worker doesn’t know how to wear it, maintain it, or fit it to his or her unique facial contours.
Carrying out an influential respiratory protection program mandates regular and reliable evaluations, and these, in themselves, are very good reasons for having an influential program. Also, you want to make sure NIOSH has evaluated and approved the respirators you are having your workers use, and you want to make sure they are in good enough condition that they function reliably as respiratory protective devices. You want to educate your workers about the kinds of situations in which they may wear respirators, both because using one may be their choice and because using one may be required (especially when they are working in oxygen-deficient atmospheres or around other danger-prone environments that require the use of high-efficiency filters). If you do all of this, then you provide a really good basis for reducing the respiratory-related health risks that your workers face.
FAQs
Are airline respirators NIOSH approved respirators and do they work in oxygen deficient atmospheres?
Yes, airline respirators are NIOSH-approved respirators and are suitable for use in oxygen-deficient atmospheres as they provide a continuous supply of breathable air from an external source.
Does a powered air purifying respirator include a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtering face piece as part of a worker's personal protective equipment?
Yes, a powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) can include a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtering facepiece as part of a worker's personal protective equipment to protect against airborne particles.