NIOSH unveils Respirator ‘One-Stop-Shop’ Web Resource

What is a Respirator?

You may have been told by your employer that you need to wear a respirator to perform some of your workplace tasks. In fact, approximately 5% of all U.S. workers in about 20% of all work establishments wear respirators at least some of the time while performing their job functions. These workers are employed at approximately 1.3 million establishments nationwide. Approximately 900,000 of these establishments have been determined to be “very small,” i.e., having fewer than 20 employees. A respirator is a personal protective device that is worn on the face, covers at least the nose and mouth, and is used to reduce the wearer’s risk of inhaling hazardous airborne particles (including dust particles and infectious agents), gases or vapors. Respirators should only be used as a “last line of defense” in the Hierarchy of Controls when engineering and administrative controls are not feasible or are being put in place.

Respirators protect the user in two basic ways. The first type of respirator removes contaminants from the air, and is called a air-purifying respirators (APR). APRs include particulate respirators, which filter out airborne particles, and “gas masks,” which filter out chemicals and gasses. Other respirators protect by supplying clean irrespirable air from another source. Air-supplying Respirators (ASR) comprise this category of respirators. They include airline respirators, which use compressed air from a remote source; and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), which include their own air supply.

The classification of particulate respirators can be further subdivided into three categories:

Particulate filtering facepiece respirators – Sometimes referred to as disposable respirators because the entire respirator is discarded when it becomes unsuitable for further use due to considerations of hygiene, excessive resistance, or physical damage. These are also commonly referred to as “N95s.”

Elastomeric respirators –Sometimes referred to as reusable respirators because the facepiece is cleaned and reused but the filter cartridges are discarded and replaced when they become unsuitable for further use.

Powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs) – A battery-powered blower moves the air flow through the filters.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) unveiled a website dedicated to respirator facts and help. The website is divided into three major sections:

Section 1: NIOSH-approved respirators – What are they, How can they be identified, Where can I get them? 

Section 2: Use of NIOSH respirators 

Section 3: Ancillary respirator information – Fact Sheets, Respirator Myths, Science of Respirator Function and Performance, Respiratory Protective Devices not approved by NIOSH. 

Complete information is available at the NIOSH “Respirator Trusted Source” web site by clicking or highlighting the link below and pasting into your browser.  

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/topics/respirators/disp_part/RespSource.html

Share and Follow: