Which respirator is right for you?
The Advisor Genius can help!
In order to select an appropriate respirator you must:
Employers must characterize the nature and magnitude of employee exposures to respiratory hazards before selecting respiratory protection equipment. Paragraph 29 CFR 1910.134(d)(1)(iii) requires the employer to identify and evaluate the respiratory hazard(s) in the workplace. Employers must make a "reasonable estimate" of the employee exposures anticipated to occur as a result of those hazards, including those likely to be encountered in reasonably foreseeable emergency situations, and must also identify the physical state and chemical form of such contaminant(s). The final rule does not specify how the employer is to make reasonable estimates of employee exposures for the purposes of selecting respirators.
Variation - You should account for potential variation in exposure by using exposure data collected with a strategy that recognizes exposure variability, or by using worst-case assumptions and estimation techniques to evaluate the highest foreseeable employee exposure levels. The use of safety factors may be necessary to account for uneven dispersion of the contaminant in the air and the proximity of the worker to the emission source.
Tightly constrained areas may not permit the use of self-contained breathing apparatuses even though they might be an acceptable choice otherwise. Likewise, working around obstructions or moving machinery that can snag hoses may limit the use of airline respirators.
Wearing respiratory protection poses a physical burden on the wearer. When a worker's medical condition would prohibit restrictive breathing conditions, negative pressure respirators would not be an appropriate choice.
Worker preferences should be a consideration during the respirator selection process. Among air purifying respirators, powered air purifying helmets have been subjectively rated the best for breathing ease, skin comfort, and in-mask temperature and humidity while filtering facepieces rated high for lightness and convenience. Each, however, has its own drawbacks, and all these factors should be taken into account during selection.
The assigned protection factor (APF) of a respirator reflects the level of protection that a properly functioning respirator would be expected to provide to a population of properly fitted and trained users. For example, an APF of 10 for a respirator means that a user could expect to inhale no more than one tenth of the airborne contaminant present.
See: Table 1. Assigned Protection Factors. [29 CFR 1910.134(d)(3)(i)(A)]
The Department of Labor does not endorse, takes no responsibility for, and exercises no control over the linked organization or its views, or contents, nor does it vouch for the accuracy or accessibility of the information contained on the destination server. The Department of Labor also cannot authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained in linked Web sites. Users must request such authorization from the sponsor of the linked Web site. Thank you for visiting our site. Please click the button below to continue.