Respiratory Protection Standard Revisions Nashville TN

Effective Nov. 22, 2006, OSHA made some changes to its Respiratory Protection Standard. The standard revision includes a table giving the Assigned Protection Factors (APFs) for all types of respirators (see Table 1). This is a good time to review your respirator program (or determine if you need one) to be sure you are adequately protecting your employees.

There are two types of respirators: Air purifying respirators filter the air from the immediate work area before it enters your lungs; supplied air respirators provide you with clean air from an airline or tank. Each of these types has various models, including those that cover half your face (mouth and nose area), all of your face (referred to as a full face piece) or a helmet or hood. Respirator selection becomes particularly important with air purifying or filtering respirators because you are cleaning the air rather than supplying fresh air.

How Do Respirator Filters Work?

Air purifying respirators work by filtering the air before it reaches the lungs. For dust or particles, the pores of the filter are small enough to screen out the particulate. For chemical fumes or gases, the filter contains absorbents like charcoal that capture the chemicals before they reach the lungs. Some work situations require both dust and chemical removal.

How Do You Know Which Respirator To Use?

To determine what respirator to use and how long it lasts, OSHA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) have developed a rating system for respirators, the APF. Another new term, Maximum Use Concentration (MUC), has also been incorporated into the revised OSHA Standard.

What Are APFs?

APFs are numbers that indicate the level of workplace respiratory protection that a respirator, or class of respirators, is expected to provide to the user. APFs are used to select the appropriate type of respirator based upon the permissible exposure limit (PEL) of a contaminant and the level of the contaminant in the workplace. The APF is the percentage of the contaminant that will be filtered out of the surrounding air.

What Are MUCs?

The respirator you select must keep the employee's exposure at or below the PEL. For each specific respirator, the MUC is the largest concentration of an airborne contaminant that that the respirator can handle. The exposure level must be measured using OSHA protocol and compared to the MUC for the respirator you have selected. If the workplace exposure exceeds the respirator's MUC, the employer must choose a respirator with a higher APF.

What Does This Mean To Business Owners In The Surface Fabrication Industry?

Surface fabricators may be required to use respirators to protect themselves from inhaling grit and dust, exposure that occurs when dry-cutting masonry or stone that contains silica, and exposure to chemicals released when sawing, routing, drilling or sanding synthetic sheet goods. These chemicals may include methyl methacrylate, butyl acrylate, alumina trihydrate, carbon black and ferric oxide among others. Additionally, it is likely that your adhesives produce hazardous fumes. You must determine what your employee exposure is for each chemical produced or used in the workplace, and ensure that your respirator's protection level is adequate for that exposure level.

What Constitutes An Effective Respirator Program?

First determine what airborne hazards exist in your workplace. You must be familiar with the PELs of airborne contaminants and physical agents used.

Whenever possible, use general or local exhaust systems first to control dusts, vapors, gases, fumes, smoke, solvents or mists that may be generated in your workplace. Use hazardous materials only in specific work areas that can be ventilated.

If airborne contaminants are still above safe levels, you must then use respirators to reduce exposure to acceptable levels. Respirators must be approved for each chemical and specific application by NIOSH. Match the MUC against the measured airborne contaminants to be sure that you have selected the correct respirator.

Develop written standard operating procedures for your selection and use of respirators. These procedures include when respirators must be worn and who, specifically, must wear them. Prior to requiring employees to wear a respirator, they must have medical evaluations to be sure they can safely breathe through the restricted airflow of the respirator.

Once a doctor determines that your employee is medically fit to wear a respirator, you must be sure the particular respirator fits the shape and size of the employee's face. This is referred to as fit testing. OSHA regulations list specific protocol for fit testing.

Employees must be trained on the correct use and limitations of their respirator. Respirators must be stored in a convenient and clean location, away from contaminants and must be regularly inspected and sanitized.

This is a broad overview of one of the many topics pertaining to surface fabrication safety. TechneTrain Inc. has a full line of training and reference materials with detailed information on these and other OSHA compliance requirements for the surface fabrication industry. For further information, visit www.technetrainonline.com, or contact TechneTrain Inc. at 800-852-8314.

Notes:

¹Employers may select respirators assigned for use in higher workplace concentrations of a hazardous substance for use at lower concentrations of that substance, or when required respirator use is independent of concentration.

²The assigned protection factors are only effective when the employer implements a continuing, effective respirator program as required by this section (29 CFR 1910.134), including training, fit testing, maintenance and use requirements.

³This APF category includes filtering facepieces, and half masks with elastomeric facepieces.

⁴The employer must have evidence provided by the respirator manufacturer that testing of these respirators demonstrates performance at a level of protection of 1,000 or greater to receive an APF of 1,000. This level of performance can best be demonstrated by performing a WPF or SWPF study or equivalent testing. Absent such testing, all other PAPRs and SARs with helmets/hoods are to be treated as loose-fitting facepiece respirators, and receive an APF of 25.

⁵These APFs do not apply to respirators used solely for escape. For escape respirators used in association with specific substances covered by 29 CFR 1910 subpart Z, employers must refer to the appropriate substance-specific standards in that subpart. Escape respirators for other IDLH atmospheres are specified by 29 CFR 1910.134 (d)(2)(ii).