854 Lead Safety in Construction

Respirator Selection

Respirator selection requires correctly matching the respirator with the type and degree of the hazard, and the user. The program manager should make a respirator available to each employee who is assigned a job that requires respiratory protection.When selecting appropriate respirators, you should consider:

• the nature and extent of the hazard,
• work requirements and conditions, and
• the characteristics and limitations of the available respirators.

Factors to Consider When Selecting Respirators

• Appropriateness: selecting appropriate respirators for use in the workplace.
• Training: training employees in the proper use of respirators (including putting them on and removing them), the limitations on their use, and their maintenance.
• Medical evaluation and surveillance: providing medical evaluation and surveillance of employees who must use respirators.
• Fit testing: testing tight-fitting respirators for proper fit.
• Respirator use: using respirators properly in routine situations as well as in reasonably foreseeable emergencies.
• Inspection: ensuring adequate air supply, quantity, and flow of breathing air for atmosphere-supplying respirators.
• Maintenance: establishing and adhering to schedules for cleaning, disinfecting, storing, inspecting, repairing, removing from service or discarding, and otherwise maintaining respirators.
• Program evaluation: regularly evaluating the effectiveness of the program.

Assigned Protection Factors (APFs)

Assigned Protection Factor (APF) means the workplace level of respiratory protection that a respirator or class of respirators is expected to provide to employees when you implement a continuing, effective respiratory protection program.

For higher-risk exposure situations (i.e., a higher concentration of infectious particles), choosing a respirator with a higher APF provides a higher level of protection for the wearer. The APFs for different types of respirators are presented in Table 1 of the OSHA Respiratory Protection Standard 1910.134. (See table to the right).

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