The material in today’s e-mail is adapted from BLR’s 7-Minute Safety Trainer session, “Respiratory Protection.”
The goals for a training session on respirator safety should include teaching employees to:
- Understand when to use the different types of respirators.
- Understand how to fit, inspect, and maintain respirators.
The applicable regulations from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are 29 CFR 1910.132 and 29 CFR 1910.134, but you can decide how technically detailed to make your training. At a minimum, YOU need to know the regulations so you can ensure your training meets their requirements. It’s up to you to decide how many regulatory details to share with employees.
Begin by describing the safety hazards that can occur in the air we breathe: Air that’s contaminated or lacks oxygen can be very harmful to health. Inhaling chemical vapors, gases, or fumes and dust, for example, can irritate and even seriously damage the lungs, respiratory system, or other organs, sometimes fatally. And a lack of oxygen can cause death in minutes.
Think you have no time to train? Think again. BLR’s 7-Minute Safety Trainer helps you fulfill key OSHA-required training tasks in as little as 7 minutes. Try it at no cost and see!
Because of these dangers, OSHA requires employers to identify breathing hazards in the workplace and protect employees from them. There are two ways employers can accomplish this:
- Engineering controls are the preferred form of protection, such as ventilation, using less toxic materials, and enclosing operations that create air contaminants.
- When air measurements reveal that engineering controls haven’t brought air hazards to safe levels, employers must provide employees with respirators.
Employees need to wear the correct respirator. There are several kinds of respirators, depending on the air hazards that are present.
- Air-purifying or filtering respirators screen out or “wash” contaminated air, but they don’t supply oxygen.
—A canister, cartridge, or filter color code shows what chemical this type of respirator protects against.
—Disposable surgical-type masks can be used only for very minimal dust hazards.
- Air-supplying respirators supply oxygen when the air contains 19.5% oxygen or less, and in situations termed Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (IDLH).
—Self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBAs) have tanks that hold limited amounts of air and signal when the air is low.
—Full-face mask respirators connect with tanks or compressors that provide an unlimited supply of air. The connecting hoses, however, can get in the way.
Employees need to follow your company’s safety procedures and the instructions on chemical safety data sheets to ensure they wear the correct respirator designed to protect against their specific job hazards.
Employees need to get a good fit. Emphasize to employees that getting a good fit with their respirators is as important as using the correct kind of respirator. Only if they get the proper fit will the respirator be able to seal out contaminants.
OSHA requires employees to have fit tests to ensure a good seal. A respirator should:
- Be secure, but not too tight, around the chin;
- Not slip;
- Not pinch the nose; and
- Allow you to move your head and talk.
Effective, 7-minute sessions provide comprehensive safety training at an average cost of $1 a day. Get the details.
Also, inform employees that not everyone can wear a respirator. Some employees may not be able to get a good fit or use a respirator safely if they:
- Wear eyeglasses. OSHA says contact lenses can be worn with any type of respirator, but their use is not recommended in dusty atmospheres while wearing a half-mask face piece.
- Have a beard or sideburns.
- Wear a skull cap.
- Are missing dentures.
- Have breathing problems or a heart condition.
- Are heat sensitive or claustrophobic (fear of confined spaces).
In tomorrow’s Advisor, we’ll go over inspecting, maintaining, and storing respirators properly, and we’ll showcase a dynamic, ready-to-use resource to help you conduct effective safety training in only 7 minutes!