OSHA Respirator Regulations
Used to minimize worker exposure to hazardous and toxic substances, respirators are regulated under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) through its Respiratory Protection Standard under the OSHAct, the Occupational Health and Safety Act. There are several Respiratory Protection Standards specific to different sectors in industry. These different sectors with their own sets of requirements include: general industry, construction, shipyards, marine terminals and long shoring. Under each sector of industry, the OSHAct also sets specific requirements with respect to certain substances identified as toxic and hazardous.
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Background
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According to OSHA, 5 million workers are required to wear respirators in 1.3 million workplaces in the United States. Respirators and other forms of personal protective equipment are used to minimize exposures to hazardous and toxic substances when exposures cannot be adequately controlled through other means of protection, such as engineering controls.
In general, respirators are used to lower the inhalation exposure of a worker to a toxic or hazardous substance when the potential exposure to a harmful substance is in excess of an allowable threshold. Because substances exhibit varying characteristics and chemical properties, the use of respirators varies significantly depending on the substance to which the worker is being exposed and the environment in which the exposure occurs.
OSHA-Approved State Plans
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While states are not required to adopt the federally reaching OSHA respiratory protection standards, OSHA tracks and publishes a guide to enable the public to research whether their state or territory has implemented an OSHA-approved plan that closely mirrors the OSHA respiratory protection standard.
Twenty-four states and two U.S. territories have OSHA-approved state plans. They are: Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wyoming, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands. The OSHA-approved state plans for Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands only cover employment in the public sector for employees of state and local government. -
Respirators for General Industry
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Workers covered under OSHA's provisions on "general industry" fall under the Respiratory Protection Standard as adopted under 29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1910.134. This standard for general industry has requirements related to the use of respirators in terms of fit-testing procedures, user-seal-check procedures, cleaning procedures, medical evaluations and employee training.
Additionally, the OSHAct includes several provisions that overlap with the standard such as the use of personal protective equipment in fire protection and the use of respirators for specific "toxic and hazardous substances."
Toxic and hazardous substances covered under these special requirements include: air contaminants, asbestos, vinyl chloride, inorganic arsenic, lead, chromium (VI), cadmium, benzene, coke oven emissions, 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane, acrylonitrile, ethylene oxide, formaldehyde, methylenedianiline, 1,3-butadiene and methylene chloride.
Respiratory Protection in the Construction Industry
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For workers in the construction industry, the OSHAct covers the use of respirators under 29 CFR 1926.103. As with the provisions on general industry, certain provisions change the requirements for specific substances.
For the construction industry, these special substance-specific regulations cover methylenedianiline, lead, asbestos, cadmium and chromium (VI). Because the construction industry is covered under a separate part of the OSHAct, the longer list of toxic and hazardous substances noted above, does not apply.
Other Industries
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For those working in shipyards, marine terminals and long shoring sector-specific respiratory protection standards are regulated under 29 CFR 1915, 29 CFR 1917 and 29 CFR 1918, respectively. These standards afford significantly different levels of protection for workers in these fields.
Respirator Selection
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OSHA requires the use of NIOSH-approved respirators chosen by qualified staff, usually an industrial hygienist. Respirators must be appropriate to the exposure, in addition to appropriately fitting the user. The Respiratory Protection Standards also require that users be regularly monitored and adequately trained.
Additionally, as mentioned above, certain regulations under the OSHAct require the use of particular types of respirators for specific substances. For example, for asbestos exposure, the only approved respirator falls under the category of "powered and non-powered air-purifying respirator" which must be equipped with a HEPA filter.
Available Resources
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On its website, OSHA provides an extensive resource for respirator selection, interpretations of the Respiratory Protection Standards and regulatory documents. The Respiratory Protection eTool offers expertise to employers in need of compliance assistance, including information on the changes to the Respiratory Protection Standard, schedules for changing respirator cartridges and respirator selection.
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