Respirators for Atmospheres that Are Not IDLH
The employer must provide a respirator that is adequate to protect the health of the employee and ensure compliance with all other OSHA statutory and regulatory requirements, under routine and reasonably foreseeable emergency situations.
The Importance of NIOSH Certification
The respirator selected must be appropriate for contaminant's chemical state and physical form.
For protection against gases and vapors, the employer must provide either an atmosphere-supplying respirator or an air-purifying respirator, provided that:
- The respirator is equipped with an end-of-service-life indicator (ESLI) that is certified by NIOSH for the specific contaminant.
- If no appropriate ESLI exists for the workplace conditions, the employer implements a change schedule for canisters and cartridges that is based on objective information or data that will ensure that canisters and cartridges are changed before the end of their service life. The employer must describe in the respirator program the information and data relied upon and the basis for the canister and cartridge change schedule and the basis for reliance on the data.
For protection against particulates, the employer must provide:
- An atmosphere-supplying respirator.
- An air-purifying respirator equipped with a filter certified by NIOSH under 30 CFR part 11 as a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter, or an air-purifying respirator equipped with a filter certified for particulates by NIOSH under 42 CFR part 84.
- For contaminants consisting primarily of particles with mass median aerodynamic diameters (MMAD) of at least 2 micrometers, an air-purifying respirator equipped with any filter certified for particulates by NIOSH.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
4-7. To be adequately protective, the employer must select a respirator that is appropriate for which of the following hazard characteristics?
You forgot to answer the question!