Respiratory Protection

A final rule that, according to OSHA, streamlines standards while reducing employer burdens, was published in the June 8, 2011 Federal Register. The rule stems from President Obama’s Jan. 18 Executive Order, “Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review.”

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Personal Protective Technology (PPT) Program and National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL) will hold a stakeholder meeting on March 29, 2011, at the Hyatt Regency Pittsburgh Airport.

 OSHA has the authority to impose on employers penalties for each individual instance of a violation of safety and health rules, according to an April 16 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (National Association of Home Builders v. OSHA, D.C. Cir., No. 09-1053, 4/16/10). The unanimous decision by the three-judge panel upholds a long-standing OSHA enforcement tool, generally used only when the employer’s behavior is deemed by the agency to be “egregious.”

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) of the Centers for Disease Control and prevention (CDC), has announced that it will conduct a public meeting to discuss current respirator standards development projects for Supplied Air Respirators (SAR); Air Fed Ensembles; and Total Inward Leakage (TIL) for respirators other than filtering facepieces and halfmasks. There will be an opportunity for discussion following NIOSH's presentations and an accompanying poster session. The meeting will take place from 8:30 a.m.

A major concern for employers during times of communicable disease outbreak is how best to protect their people.  Loss of essential personnel to illness can have a devastating impact on business.  In most cases, it is not practical to prevent exposure to airborne viruses or bacteria by having employees work at home, nor can employers identify and isolate people who may be infected, but not yet manifesting symptoms, before they can infect others.  It therefore becomes necessary to provide employees with both the guidance and the means for maintaining health in the workplace.

On April 1, OSHA published a new guidance document that provides employers with vital information for selecting respirators for employees exposed to  airborne contaminants. 

OSHA is proposing to add two Portacount© quantitative fit-testing protocols to its Respiratory Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134). The proposed revisions would reduce the time required to perform the fit tests and increase the score required to pass them.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration intends to add two new quantitative fit-testing protocols to its respiratory protection standard.  In a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR) sent to the Office of Management and Budget December 31st, OSHA described how the new Portacount® quantitative fit-testing protocols would reduce the time required to conduct quantitative respirator fit testing by half.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is beginning a new program to approve self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBAs) for use by fire fighters and other first responders after terrorist attacks.  NIOSH will approve SCBAs that provide the required level of protection to first responders where an act of terror has released chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) agents.  Products that meet the NIOSH requirements will be included on a list of SCBAs specially approved for use by first responders in these types of emergencies.  In addition, the product