654 Lead Safety in General Industry

Respirator Selection

When working with lead, employees should use particulate respirators that have the following characteristics.

Respirator selection requires correctly matching the respirator with the hazard and the user. The properly selected respirator must effectively reduce user exposure under all conditions, including reasonably foreseeable emergency escape situations. The program manager should make a respirator available to each employee who is assigned a job that requires respiratory protection.

Proper respirator selection involves choosing a device that will protect the employee from the respiratory hazards to which he or she may be exposed, yet permits the employee to perform the job with the least amount of physical burden.

General Requirements: In choosing the appropriate respirator, you must consider the nature and extent of the hazard, work requirements and conditions, and the characteristics and limitations of the available respirators.

Factors to Consider When Selecting Respirators

• the nature of the hazard, and the physical and chemical properties of the air contaminant;
• concentrations of contaminants;
• relevant permissible exposure limits or other occupational exposure limits;
• the nature of the work operation or process;
• the length of time the respirator is used;
• work activities and physical/psychological stress;
• fit testing; and
• physical characteristics, functional capabilities, and limitations of respirators.

Assigned Protection Factors (APFs)

Assigned Protection Factor (APF) means the workplace level of respiratory protection that a respirator or class of respirators is expected to provide to employees when you implement a continuing, effective respiratory protection program.

For higher-risk exposure situations (i.e., a higher concentration of infectious particles), choosing a respirator with a higher APF provides a higher level of protection for the wearer. The APFs for different types of respirators are presented in Table 1 of the OSHA Respiratory Protection Standard 1910.134.

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