Transcript TEXAS GAS ASSOCIATION

Respiratory
Protection
TGA Safety
Roundtable
March 2015
Respiratory Protection
Are you at risk without adequate
respiratory protection?
What are you doing to protect yourself from
hazardous atmospheres today?
Will YOU be prepared when an emergency takes
place?
Objective
Demonstrate a general understanding of the
role of respiratory protection in job safety
within the requirements in the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Regulations
29 CFR 1910.134
Purpose of Respiratory Protection
To protect employees from:
Occupational airborne particles
Gases
Oxygen deficient atmospheres
Reasons for Respirators
What Is A Respirator?
A device that protects workers from inhaling
harmful substances.
Respirators provide protection from respiratory
hazards only when they are worn properly.
What are some things that prevent a respirator
from working properly?
Why Are Respirators Necessary?
Airborne fibers/vapors
Gases
Dust
Fogs
Fumes
Mists
Smokes
Sprays
Most Common: Oxygen Deficient Atmospheres
When Are Respirators Necessary?
Anytime all preferred methods of protecting
workers from breathing contaminated air have
been exhausted or determined to be
insufficient.
Includes: Engineering Controls
Administrative Controls
Substituting Non-Hazardous Materials
Types of Respirators
Air Purifying Respirator
A respirator used in conjunction with filters or
canisters to remove contaminants from the air.
Note: cannot be used in an IDLH situation
unless escape of a hazardous atmosphere
Types of Respirators
Supplied Air Respirators
(Atmosphere Supplying)
Respirators that provide clean air from an
uncontaminated source.
Compressed breathing air shall meet at least the
requirements for Grade D breathing air.
Types of Respirators
Dust Masks / Filtering Face Piece
Note: cannot be used in IDLH situations
Respiratory Protection
Permissible practice:
A respirator shall be provided to each employee
when such equipment is necessary to protect the
health of such employee. The respirators shall be
suitable for the purpose intended.
The employer shall be responsible for the
establishment and maintenance of a respiratory
protection program.
Respiratory Protection Programs
Written
All work specific procedures and elements for
required respirator use applicable to a
particular worksite must be in writing.
The program must address respirator selection,
fit testing, use, training, medical evaluations,
cleaning, disinfecting, storage and
maintenance & program evaluation
Respiratory Protection Program
Voluntary Use
An employer may provide respirators at the request of
employees or permit them to use their own respirators, if
the employer determines that such respirator use will not
in itself create a hazard.
Employer will provide the user with information in 29 CFR
1910.134 App D and establish a respiratory protection
program with all elements necessary to ensure that
voluntary users are medically able to use a respirator.
Respirator Protection Program
Respiratory Protection Programs
Voluntary Use
A written program is not required for voluntary
use of filtering face piece respirators.
Respirator Use Medical Evaluation
Purpose: Using a respirator may place physiological
burden on employees that varies with the type of
respirator worn, the job or workplace conditions.
Medical evaluations must be made when employees are
required to wear respirators in the workplace to protect
the health of the employee.
Medical evaluations will be reviewed by a physician or
other licensed health care professional (PLHCP) to
approved the employee for respirator use.
Respirator Selection
Employers shall identify and evaluate a NIOSH
certified respirator based on the hazard(s) to
which workers are exposed.
The evaluation shall include a reasonable estimate
of employee exposures to respiratory hazard(s) .
Where an employee cannot identify or reasonably
estimate the employee exposure the employer
shall consider the atmosphere to be IDLH.
Respirators for IDLH Atmospheres
A full face piece pressure demand SCBA certified by
NIOSH for a minimum service life of 30 minutes or a
combination full face piece pressure demand supplied
air respirator with auxiliary self-contained air supply.
Note: all oxygen deficient atmospheres shall be
considered IDLH.
Respirators For Non IDLH
Atmospheres
The employer shall provide a respirator that is
adequate to protect the health of the employee and
ensure compliance with all other OHSA statutory and
regulatory requirements, under routine and
reasonably foreseeable emergency situations.
Air Purifying Filters/Cartridges
Respirator Fit Testing
Before an employee may be required to use any
respirator with a negative or positive pressure
tight fitting face piece, the employee must be
fit tested with the same make, model, style and
size of respirator that will be used.
Fit testing shall be administered using an OSHA
accepted Qualitative (QLFT) or Quantitative
(QNFT) protocol.
Respirator Fit Testing
Employees will be fit tested at least annually, any
time a different respirator face piece is used,
whenever the employee reports or the employer,
PLHCP, supervisor or program administrator
makes visual observations of, changes in the
employees physical condition that could affect
respirator fit. Such conditions include, but are not
limited to, facial scarring, dental changes,
cosmetic surgery or obvious change in body
weight.
Respirator Fit Testing
An employer cannot allow employees who have
any condition that interferes with the face-toface piece seal or valve function to wear
respirators with tight fitting face pieces.
This includes, but not limited to facial hair,
corrective glasses, missing dentures, presence
of facial scars, wearing of jewelry or headgear
that projects under the face piece seal.
Qualitative Fit Testing
Series of test using a known irritant or fragrance
type test medium.
Isoamyl Acetate – banana oil type liquid.
Bitrex (sodium saccharine) – sweet bitter after
taste. 400 times stronger than table sugar.
Stannic Chloride – irritant smoke with a very
offensive strong odor.
(organic vapor filters shall be used)
Qualitative Fit Testing
Quantitative Fit Testing
Using controlled negative pressure and appropriate
instrumentation to measure volumetric leak rate of a
facepiece to quantify the respirator fit.
Fit Factors:
½ face respirator – minimum protection factor of 100
Full facepiece – minimum protection factor of 500
Fit factor estimates the ratio of the concentration of
substance in ambient air to its concentration inside the
respirator when worn.
Quantitative Fit Testing
Respirator Seal Check
The individual who uses a tight fitting
respirator is to perform a user seal check to
ensure that an adequate seal is achieved each
time the respirator is put on. The respirator
manufacturer’s recommended method shall be
used.
User seal checks are not substitutes for
qualitative or quantitative fit test.
Respirator Seal Check
Seal checks will vary depending on type of
respirator and manufacturers specifications.
Respirator Cleaning
Wash components in warm (110 deg. F) water
with a mild detergent or with a cleaner
recommended by the respirator manufacturer.
Rinse components thoroughly in clean, warm
(100 deg. F) water, preferably running water.
Hand dry with a clean lint-free cloth or air dry.
Respirator Cleaning
When cleaner does not contain a disinfecting agent,
immerse for 2 minutes in the following:
Hypochlorite solution (50 ppm chlorine) made by adding 1
milliliter bleach to 1 liter of warm water (110 deg. F)
Aqueous solution of iodine (50 ppm Iodine) made by
adding 0.8 milliliter tincture of iodine to 1 liter of warm
water (110 deg. F)
Rinse thoroughly in clean warm water, hand dry or air dry.
Respirator Storage
Respirators shall be stored in a manner to
protect them from dust, sunlight, extreme heat
or cold, moisture, ozone, damaging chemicals
and distortion of rubber or other flexible parts.
Respirator Inspections
All respirators used in routine situations shall be
inspected before each use and during cleaning.
All respirators maintained for emergency use a
documented inspection shall be conducted at least
monthly and in accordance with the
manufacturers recommendations.
A check of respirator function, tightness of
connections, and the condition of various parts
including the face piece, head straps, valves,
connecting tubes, cartridges, canisters, filters and
elastomeric parts.
For Additional Information Visit
www.osha.gov
29 CFR 1910.134