756 Respiratory Protection

Controlling Exposure to Respiratory Hazards

To eliminate or reduce the chance of getting hurt in the workplace, OSHA requires employers to use a prioritized set of hazard control strategies called the Hierarchy of Controls.

The highest priority strategies attempt to eliminate, replace or use engineering to manage the hazard, itself.

The lower level strategies work to reduce exposure by controlling worker behaviors. Let's take a look at these strategies.

Elimination and Substitution

If employees are exposed to respiratory hazards at unsafe levels, you'll need to determine how to protect them from overexposure. You might try to:

• Completely eliminate the hazard by using another production process or materials that are not hazardous.
• Substitute or replace a hazardous substance with a less hazardous substance that does not require as much protection.

For instance, when performing abrasive blasting, the worker might replace blasting sand, which contains silica, with abrasive media such as glass beads, corn cob, or air and dry ice.

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