History of U.S. Respirator Approval (Continued) - Gas masks, Supplied-air respirators, and Chemical cartridge respirators.

This article is the third in a series of four articles on respirator history. This article continues to follow the history of respirator approval, use, and improvements in the US as discussed in our article entitled, History of U.S. Respirator Approval, published in the ISRP Journal, Vol. 35, No. 1, 2018 (Spelce. et. al.2018). In addition, a 1957 respirator decision logic diagram illustrates the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) rules to follow for respirator selection (USBM 1957).

History of U.S. Respirator Approval (Continued) Particulate Respirators.

This is the final article in a series of four articles on respirator history. This article continues to follow the history of respirator approval, use, and improvements in the U.S. as discussed in our article entitled, History of U.S. Respirator Approval, published in the ISRP Journal, Vol. 35, No. 1, 2018 (Spelce et al., 2018). This article is entirely about the history of respirators for protection against particulate hazards since the most extensive records available for the United States Bureau of Mines (USBM) approval schedules are for dust/fume/mist respirators.

History of U.S. Respirator Approval.

This article is the second in a series of four articles on respirator history. The discussions presented in this article follow the history of respirator requirements, use, improvements, and certification in America. Included is a discussion of respirator evolution prior to American certification standards and discussion of the need, primarily from the mining industry, for government respirator certification. The reasons for government intervention and the origination of the American respirator certification program are discussed.

Pre-World War I Firefighter Respirators and the U.S. Bureau of Mines Involvement in WWI.

The U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) was established on July 1, 1910 with a mission to address the previous decade's coal mine fatality incidence rate of greater than 2,000 annually. The need for federal government involvement to assure dependable and safe mine rescue respirators was recognized by the USBM with the first respirator approval being issued in 1919. Prior to this, some occupations exposed individuals to inhalation hazards. Firefighters, in particular, had a critical need of respiratory protection. This article provides a brief summary of pre-World War I (WWI) (1914 to 1918) respiratory protection for firefighters based largely on the work of Bruce J. Held. Also discussed is the then newly established United States Bureau of Mines' (USBM) role with the U.S. War Department during WWI for protection against chemical warfare agents.

Effective Partnership is an underpinning of ANSI/ASSE Z88.2-2015 Practices for Respiratory Protection.

In the U.S., respiratory protection is broadly supported by a system of coordinated efforts among governmental organizations, professional associations, researchers, industrial hygienists, manufacturers, and others who produce knowledge, best practice guidance, standards, regulations, technologies, and products to assure workers can be effectively protected. Ultimately, the work of these partners is applied by employers in establishing and implementing an effective ANSI/ASSE Z88.2-2015 conforming respirator program. This article describes key partners and their activities and/or responsibilities to assure an effective respirator program.

Respiratory Protection for Oxygen Deficient Atmospheres.

This article describes several aspects of oxygen (O2) deficiency with an emphasis on respirator programs and respirator selection. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) 29 CFR 1910.134 and ANSI/ASSE Z88.2-2015 (Z88.2) have much in common. However, their exposure criteria and terminology used for describing levels of O2-deficiency and the approaches to assessing O2-deficiency differ. These differences can have a significant impact on an employer's respirator program and respirator selections for workplaces at altitudes above sea level. Under certain circumstances, Z88.2 leads to a more conservative respirator selection than OSHA because its O2-deficiency criteria and hazard assessment approach relies directly on partial pressure of oxygen (PO2) at all altitudes. Z88.2 defines an O2-deficient atmosphere as either immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH), or non-IDLH based on the atmosphere's PO2 and defines respirator selection for these two O2-deficient atmospheres. Unlike Z88.2, OSHA does not directly access the biologically significant aspect of an atmosphere's PO2 in its hazard assessment. OSHA defines an O2-deficient atmosphere based upon a percentage of oxygen. OSHA does not use the term "O2-deficient IDLH"; however, OSHA considers any atmosphere with less than 19.5% O2 as IDLH and defines respirator selection for IDLH atmospheres. Although OSHA does not use the term "PO2" in their respirator standard, OSHA's exceptions to O2-deficient IDLH respirator selection policy are based on PO2 altitude-adjusted, O2 percentage criteria. This article provides descriptions of OSHA and Z88.2 requirements to evaluate workplace oxygen deficiency, their approaches to O2-deficiency hazard assessment, and describes their significance on respirator programs and selections. Alternative solutions to wearing respirators for protection against O2-deficiency resulting solely from high altitudes are also discussed. Selection and implementation of alternative solutions by the employer and their Physician or other Licensed Health Care Professional (PLHCP) are not covered by either respirator standard. Appendix A provides information about the physiological effect of wearing respirators and the mechanics of respiration, which is an important consideration in lower O2 atmospheres.

Respirator selection for clandestine methamphetamine laboratory investigation.

First responders to illicit drug labs may not always have SCBA protection available. Air-purifying respirators using organic vapor cartridges with P-100 filters may not be sufficient. It would be better to use a NIOSH-approved CBRN respirator with its required multi-purpose cartridge system, which includes a P-100 filter. This would remove all the primary drug lab contaminants­organic vapors, acid gases, ammonia, phosphine, iodine, and airborne meth particulates. To assure the proper selection and use of a respirator, it is recommended that the contaminants present be identified and quantified and the OSHA 29 CFR 1910.134 respirator protection program requirements followed.