E-Books:Guide for the Respiratory Protection Standard

This Small Entity Compliance Guide (SECG) is intended to help small businesses comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Respiratory Protection standard (63 FR 1152; January 8, 1998). While the guide is for small entities, the guide itself is not small. OSHA’s goal for this document is to provide small entities with a comprehensive step-by-step guide complete with checklists and commonly asked questions that will aid both employees and employers in small businesses with a better understanding of OSHA’s respiratory protection standard. The reader should be advised that OSHA also has other shorter documents and visual aids that may be used to better understand respiratory protection and the OSHA standard itself.

If the employees of a small business are only exposed to nuisance dusts and relatively non-toxic chemicals and use only

a few types of relatively simple respirators, knowledge of the guide and materials supplied by the respirator manufacturer may be sufficient for the small business owner or an employee to become qualified as a program administrator. If more dangerous chemicals or high exposures are present, or sophisticated respirators are used, the program administrator must have more knowledge or experience. In these circumstances, it may be necessary for the administrator to seek out the expertise needed or to obtain appropriate training.

Table of Contents
Contents
Introduction……………………………………………… 5
The audience for this guide……………………………6
How to use this guide……………………………………..6
Respiratory protection equipment………………..8
OSHA’s Respiratory Protection
Standard……………………………………………………………9
The Respiratory Protection Program…………….9
When to use the Respiratory
Protection Program…………………………………………9
Updates to OSHA’s Respiratory
Protection Standard………………………………………10
The benefits of the Respiratory
Protection Standard………………………………………10
Points of Contact for additional
information……………………………………………………..11
Section (a): Permissible practice………….11
(a)(1) Engineering controls……………………………11
(a)(2) Providing employees with
respirators………………………………………………………12
Checklist for Permissible Practice………………12
Section (b): Definitions………………………….13
Section (c): Respiratory protection
program……………………………………………………13
(c)(1) Program development and
implementation……………………………………………..13
(c)(2) Where respirator use is not required.. 14
(c)(3) Program administrator………………………..15
(c)(4) Employer-provided respirators…………..16
Checklist for Respiratory Protection
Programs…………………………………………………………16
Section (d): Respirator selection………….16
(d)(1)(i) General guidelines for selection…….16
(d)(1)(ii) Selected respirator must be
certified by the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)…..17
(d)(1)(iii) Employers need to identify
and evaluate worksite hazards……………………17
(d)(1)(iv)You must provide a sufficient
number of respirators to correctly fit
the user……………………………………………………………18
(d)(2) Respirators for IDLH atmospheres……18
(d)(2)(i) Types of respirators………………………….18

(d)(2)(ii) Respirators for escape from IDLH
atmospheres must be NIOSH-certified
for escape from the atmosphere in which
they will be used……………………………………………18
(d)(2)(iii) You must consider all oxygen
deficient atmospheres to be IDLH………………18
(d)(3) Respirators for non-IDLH
atmospheres…………………………………………………..18
(d)(3)(i) You must provide respirators
that are adequate to protect employee
health and ensure compliance with all
other OSHA requirements under routine
and reasonably foreseeable emergency
situations………………………………………………………..18
(d)(3)(i)(A) You must select respirators
according to Assigned Protection Factors
(APF)………………………………………………………………..19
(d)(3)(i)(B) You must select respirators
after considering the Maximum Use
Concentrations in your workplace under
which respirators are used…………………………..19
(d)(3)(ii) You must select respirators that
are appropriate for the chemical state
and physical form of the contaminant……….20
(d)(3)(iii) Respiratory protection for
gases and vapors…………………………………………..20
(d)(3)(iv) Respiratory protection for
particulates…………………………………………………….22
Checklist for Respirator Selection………………23
Table I: Assigned Protection Factors…………24
Table II: Oxygen Deficient Atmospheres…..27
Section (e): Medical evaluation…………….27
(e)(1) Employer provided medical
evaluations……………………………………………………..27
(e)(2) Medical evaluation procedures………….27
(e)(3) Follow-up medical examinations……….28
(e)(4) Administration of questionnaires
and examinations…………………………………………..28
(e)(5) Supplemental information for
the PLHCP………………………………………………………29
(e)(6) Medical determination………………………..30
(e)(7) Additional medical evaluations…………30
Checklist for Medical Evaluation…………………31
Section (f): Fit testing…………………………… 31
Qualitative Fit Testing and User Seal
Checking…………………………………………………………34
(f)(1) Respirators that require fit testing……35
(f)(2) When fit testing must be conducted:
general requirements……………………………………35

(f)(3) When fit testing must be conducted:
changes in the respirator wearer’s
physical condition…………………………………………35
(f)(4) When fit testing must be conducted:
unacceptable fit as determined by an
employee after fit testing…………………………….35
(f)(5) Fit testing procedures: general
fit testing procedures…………………………………..35
(f)(6) Limitation on use of qualitative
fit testing………………………………………………………..35
(f)(7) Use of quantitative fit testing……………36
(f)(8) Fit testing for atmosphere-supplying
and powered air-purifying respirators………. 36
Checklist for Fit Testing………………………………..41
Section (g): Use of respirators……………..41
(g)(1) Preventing leaks in the facepiece
seal………………………………………………………..41
(g)(2) Continuing respirator effectiveness…43
(g)(3) Procedures for Immediately
Dangerous to Life or Health atmospheres
and for interior structural firefighting……….43
(g)(4) Procedures for interior structural
firefighting……………………………………………………..46
Checklist for Proper Use of
Respirators……………………………………………………..47
Section (h): Maintenance and care
of respirators…………………………………………..47
(h)(1) Cleaning and disinfecting………………….47
(h)(2) Storage………………………………………………….48
(h)(3) Inspection…………………………………………….48
(h)(4) Repairs………………………………………………….48
Checklist for Respirator Maintenance
and Care………………………………………………………….49
Section (i): Breathing air quality
and use…………………………………………………….49
(i)(1) Specifications for breathing air…………50
(i)(1)(i) Compressed and liquid oxygen……….50
(i)(1)(ii) Compressed breathing air………………50
(i)(2)&(3) Oxygen use…………………………………….51
(i)(4) Cylinder use…………………………………………..51
(i)(5)-(7) Compressor use………………………………51
(i)(5)(i) Location of compressor during use..51
(i)(5)(ii) Low moisture content of
ambient air……………………………………………………..51
(i)(5)(iii) Inline air purification………………………51
(i)(5)(iv) Tracking of bed and filter changes..52

(i)(6) Compressors that are not oil
lubricated……………………………………………………….52
(i)(7) Compressors that are oil lubricated….52
(i)(8) Precautions regarding couplings……….53
(i)(9) Labeling of breathing gas containers..53
Checklist for Breathing Air Quality
and Use……………………………………………………………53
Section (j): Identification of filters,
cartridges and canisters……………………………54
Section (k): Training and information…..54
(k)(1) Content of training……………………………..54
(k)(2) Comprehension of training………………..55
(k)(3) Timing of training………………………………. 55
(k)(4) Portability of training…………………………55
(k)(5) Retraining……………………………………………..55
(k)(6) Information for voluntary
respirator users……………………………………………..56
Checklist for Training and Information……….56
Section (l): Program evaluation………………56
(l)(1) Conducting program evaluations……… 56
(l)(2) Consulting with employees……………….. 56
Checklist for Program Evaluation……………….57
Section (m): Recordkeeping………………….57
(m)(1) Medical evaluation records………………57
(m)(2) Respirator fit testing records…………..57
(m)(3) Written respiratory protection
program…………………………………………………………..57
(m)(4) Access to records……………………………….57
Checklist for Recordkeeping………………………..57
Attachment 1: APF Glossary
and definitions………………………………………………58
Attachment 2: Checklists………………………….61
Checklist for Permissible Practice………………61
Checklist for Respiratory Protection
Programs…………………………………………………………61
Checklist for Respirator Selection………………62
Checklist for Medical Evaluation…………………62
Checklist for Fit Testing………………………………..63
Checklist for Proper Use of
Respirators……………………………………………………..63
Checklist for Respirator Maintenance
and Care………………………………………………………….64

Checklist for Breathing Air Quality
and Use……………………………………………………………65
Checklist for Training and Information……….65
Checklist for Program Evaluation……………….66
Checklist for Recordkeeping………………………..66
Attachment 3:
Respiratory Protection Standard……………67
Table I: Assigned Protection Factors…………..71
Table II: Oxygen Deficient Atmospheres…….72
Appendix A to § 1910.134: Fit Testing
Procedures (Mandatory)………………………………..81
Part I. OSHA-Accepted Fit Test Protocols…..81
Table A-1: CNP REDON Quantitative
Fit Testing Protocol………………………………………..93
Part II. New Fit Test Protocols………………………93
Appendix B-1 to § 1910.134: User
Seal Check Procedures (Mandatory)…………..94
Appendix B-2 to § 1910.134: Respirator
Cleaning Procedures (Mandatory)……………….95
Appendix C to § 1910.134: OSHA
Respirator Medical Evaluation
Questionnaire (Mandatory)…………………………..96
Part A. Section 1. (Mandatory)……………………..96
Part A. Section 2. (Mandatory)…………………….96
Appendix D to § 1910.134:
Information for Employees Using
Respirators When Not Required
Under the Standard (Mandatory)………………100
Attachment 4: Sample Program……………101
Attachment 5: NIOSH MultiVapor
Information……………………………………………………112
Attachment 6: NIOSH Tables of
Cartridges and Canisters by APFs
(Modified to OSHA APFs)……………………….. 113
Table 1. Particulate Respirators………………..113
Table 2. Gas/Vapor Respirators…………………114
Table 3. Combination Gas/Vapor
and Particulate Respirators……………………… 115
Complaints, Emergencies
and Further Assistance……………………………. 116
OSHA Regional Offices…………………………….118