Respiratory Protection Standard

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (2007). (accessed 2007). Respiratory Protection Standard. 29 Code of Federal Regulations 1910.134. URL http //www.osha. gov/pis/oshaweb/owadisp.show document p table=STANDARDS p id=12716. 

Appendix E (page 351) has been revised. It now contains OSHA respirator requirements for 28 chemicals or hazardous substances that were identified in the preamble to the OSHA Respiratory Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134). 

Section 4.3 consolidates the requirements for respirator training as found at 29CFR1910.134, the Occupational Safety and Healdi Administration s (OSHA) Respiratory Protection Standard, including the requirement that each employee can demonstrate sufficient knowledge of respirators. This section also covers the requirements for retraining employees on basic aspects of respirator use such as proper respirator fit, respirator limits, how to inspect, clean, and store respirators, etc. 

An example of noncompliance in an audit of a petrochemical facility is a respirator found covered with dust and lying on a tabletop in a sample room. This is in violation of the Respiratory Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134), which requires that respirators be stored in a convenient, clean, and sanitary location. This was a case of improper respirator storage. A root cause analysis would determine if operators know where and how respirators should be stored. If they don t, then additional respirator training may be required. 

In addition to the following OSHA standard for general respirator protection usage, individuals working undercircumstances where they could be exposed to tuberculosis,there is a specific respiratory protection standard applicable to them, 29 CFR 1910.139. TheNRC also... 

Under Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations, only equipment listed and approved by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) may be used for respiratory protection. Also under the regulations, each site on which respiratory protective equipment is used must implement a respirator program (including training and medical certification) in compliance with OSHA s Respiratory Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134) see also ANSI standard Z88.2-1992, Practices for Respiratory Protection. 

A study, conducted under actual conditions of use in the workplace, that measures the protection provided by a properly selected, fit-tested, and functioning respirator, when the respirator is worn correctly and used as part of a comprehensive respirator program that is in compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Respiratory Protection Standard 29 CFR 1910.134. Measurements of Co and Ci are obtained only while the respirator is being worn during performance of normal work tasks (i.e., samples are not collected when the respirator is not being worn). As the degree of protection afforded by the respirator increases, the WPF increases. 

Respiratory Protection Standard Small Entity Compliance Guide (OSHA 3384— 2011). 

Respiratory Protection Assigned Protection Factors for the Revised Respiratory Protection Standard (OSHA 3352—2009). 

Small Entity Compliance Guide for Respiratory Protection Standard, OSHA Pub 9071. 

For more information, see the OSHA Respiratory Protection Standard http //wivw.osha. gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show documentlp id=12716 p table=standards (accessed January 26,2010). 

Who When employees use respirators, the employer must meet the requirements (including training requirements) of the Respiratory Protection standard ( 1926.103). 

OSHA refers to disposable paper respirators, or dust masks, as filtering facepieces. OSHA s Respiratory Protection Standard for construction at 29 CFR 1926.103 refers to 29 CFR 1910.134, which defines a filtering facepiece as, a negative pressure particulate respirator with a filter as an integral part of the facepiece or with the entire facepiece composed of the filtering medium. In this Toolbox Talk, we will just call them dust masks. 

For your convenience, we have reproduced Appendix D as part of our handout provided with this talk. Formal training provisions under the Respiratory Protection Standard are usually not required for employees who are not required to wear dust masks. 

Disposable paper respirators, or dust masks, are still considered respirators and their use is regulated under OSHA s Respiratory Protection Standard. However, in many cases, respirators are not required by OSHA or by your employer because exposures are below oflScial exposure limits, yet you feel you d like to wear a dust mask anyway Maybe it s for comfort reasons, or maybe you just want that extra protection you get from a dust mask. 

OSHA often issues citations to employers who do not operate a suitable PPE program. One study investigated factors involved when companies received a citation for non-compliance with the OSHA respiratory protection standards. During the period from 1999 through 2006, OSHA inspectors issued 30,000 citations related to the respiratory protection standard. 

Overview of OSHA Respiratory Protection Standard (29CFR 1910.134)... 

In the case of respiratory hazards, OSHA 29 CFR 1910.134 defines the respiratory protection standard... 

Management must develop a respiratory program, then implement it and ensure that workers follow its requirements. OSHA requires that voluntary use of respirators, when not required by the company, must be controlled as strictly as under required circumstances. To prevent violations of the Respiratory Protection Standard, employees are not allowed voluntary use of their own or company-supplied respirators of any type. The exception is employees whose only use of respirators involves the voluntary use of filtering (nonsealing) face pieces (dust masks). 

Your employer must ensure that your respirator face-piece fits properly. Proper fit of a respirator facepiece is critical to your protection from airborne lead. Obtaining a proper fit on each employee may require your employer to make available several different types of respirator masks. To ensure that your respirator fits properly and that facepiece leakage is minimized, your employer must give you either a qualitative or quantitative fit test as specified in Appendix A of the respiratory protection standard located at 29 CFR 1910.134. 

This section means this respiratory protection standard. 

A. The Respiratory Protection standard considers the terms filtering facepieces and dust masks to be synonymous. 

QSHA s policies and procedures for compliance with the respiratory protection standard are published in the compliance instruction CPL 2-0.120, Inspection Procedures for the Respiratory Protection Standard. This OSHA Instruction is available through the Internet on OSHA s home page at http //www.osha.gov. In addition, OSHA has published Questions and Answers on the Respiratory... 

Protection Standard. This 79 page document contains guidance regarding the Respiratory Protection Standard. This can be found on the internet at the OSHA home page as weii. 

Noncompliance with the requirements of OSHA s respiratory protection standard is one of fhe fop fen cifafions lisfed in Table 9.12. In fhe following sfafemenf, Mansdorf (1993) makes a number of imporfant stafements concerning personal profechve equipmenf (PPE) worfh faking some time to consider carefully ... 

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