Respiratory Protection | Occupational Health & Safety Hub.com

Odor Thresholds, TLVs, OELs, IDLHs, and Respirator Selection Guide for Chemicals

3M Corporation put together a respiratory protection guide (download link at end of this article) that contains a wealth of information for OH&S professionals including:

Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (IDLH) levels
Odor Thresholds
Occupational Exposure Levels (OELs)
Respiratory Protection Selection Guide

IDLH’s are published by NIOSH and “refers to the acute respiratory exposure that poses an immediate threat of loss of life, immediate or delayed irreversible adverse effects on health, or acute eye exposure that would prevent escape from a hazardous atmosphere.”

With reference to odor thresholds it should be noted:

The method of defining and determining odor thresholds varies widely, thereby giving rise to a significant range of reported odor thresholds for many substances. Individuals may also respond differently to the same odor. At a given concentration, one person may smell and recognize the odor, while another person may barely notice it. The odor thresholds reported in the literature are typically determined for a single constituent, with no other chemicals present in the air. The single constituent situation rarely occurs in the workplace. Therefore, caution must be exercised in using these numbers.

Referenced OELs are based upon ACGIH’s TLVs, except where noted in the chart.

Continue reading Odor Thresholds, TLVs, OELs, IDLHs, and Respirator Selection Guide for Chemicals

Differences Between a Respirator and a Surgical Mask

Want to know what the general differences between a respirator and a surgical mask? Watch the following video.

In summary,

A respirator:

reduces exposure to airborne contaminants specifically fits you must be NIOSH certified, if required by your employer protects against many airborne infectious diseases

A facemask:

loose fitting disposable mask help [...]

AIHA Releases White Paper on the Need for Respiratory Protection Research

The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) recently released a white paper on the need for research of respiratory protection to “enhance the safe and effective use of respiratory protection.”

Among the research needs are:

Measurement of respirator performance Qualitative fit testing for full facepiece respirators Appropriateness of fit factor safety margin criterion In-facepiece measurements [...]

Approved NIOSH N-95 Respirators

The N95 respirator is the most common of the seven types of particulate filtering facepiece respirators. This product filters at least 95% of airborne particles but is not resistant to oil.

View the complete list of approved N-95 respirators HERE

A list all of the seven types of particulate filtering facepiece respirators is shown [...]

N95 Respirator Training and Fit Testing Verification Card

A copy of the N95 Respirator Training and Fit Testing Verification Card can be download HERE: (N95 Respirator Training and Fit Testing Verification Card (428))

During a recent AOHP/OSHA Alliance conference call that included the National Personal Protective Technology Lab (NNNPTL), a need was identified for healthcare workers to easily recall the type [...]

New Guidance Document – Assigned Protection Factors

OSHA has issued a new guidance document for employers who may need to establish and implement a respiratory protection program due to potential exposures to contaminants in workplace air. The document focusues on the mandatory selection provisions of the assigned protection factors (APFs), maximum use concentrations (MUCs) and the use of the [...]