1910.134(d): Selecting the Right Respirator

(d) Selection of respirators. This paragraph requires the employer to evaluate respiratory hazard(s) in the workplace, identify relevant workplace and user factors, and base respirator selection on these factors. The paragraph also specifies appropriately protective respirators for use in IDLH atmospheres, and limits the selection and use of air-purifying respirators. 573 citations

(1) General requirements. Open (d)(1) 477 citations

(i) The employer shall select and provide an appropriate respirator based on the respiratory hazard(s) to which the worker is exposed and workplace and user factors that affect respirator performance and reliability. Open (d)(1)(i) 88 citations

(ii) The employer shall select a NIOSH-certified respirator. The respirator shall be used in compliance with the conditions of its certification. Open (d)(1)(ii) 74 citations

(iii) The employer shall identify and evaluate the respiratory hazard(s) in the workplace; this evaluation shall include a reasonable estimate of employee exposures to respiratory hazard(s) and an identification of the contaminant's chemical state and physical form. Where the employer cannot identify or reasonably estimate the employee exposure, the employer shall consider the atmosphere to be IDLH. Open (d)(1)(iii) 312 citations

(iv) The employer shall select respirators from a sufficient number of respirator models and sizes so that the respirator is acceptable to, and correctly fits, the user. 2 citations

(2) Respirators for IDLH atmospheres. Open (d)(2) 10 citations

(i) The employer shall provide the following respirators for employee use in IDLH atmospheres: Open (d)(2)(i) 9 citations

(A) A full facepiece pressure demand SCBA certified by NIOSH for a minimum service life of thirty minutes, or Open (d)(2)(i)(a) 1 citations

(B) A combination full facepiece pressure demand supplied-air respirator (SAR) with auxiliary self-contained air supply. Open (d)(2)(i)(b)

(ii) Respirators provided only for escape from IDLH atmospheres shall be NIOSH-certified for escape from the atmosphere in which they will be used. Open (d)(2)(ii) 1 citations

(iii) All oxygen-deficient atmospheres shall be considered IDLH. Exception: If the employer demonstrates that, under all foreseeable conditions, the oxygen concentration can be maintained within the ranges specified in Table II of this section (i.e., for the altitudes set out in the table), then any atmosphere-supplying respirator may be used. Open (d)(2)(iii)

(3) Respirators for atmospheres that are not IDLH. Open (d)(3) 86 citations

(i) The employer shall provide a respirator that is adequate to protect the health of the employee and ensure compliance with all other OSHA statutory and regulatory requirements, under routine and reasonably foreseeable emergency situations. Open (d)(3)(i) 28 citations

(A) Assigned Protection Factors (APFs). Employers must use the assigned protection factors listed in Table 1 to select a respirator that meets or exceeds the required level of employee protection. When using a combination respirator (e.g., airline respirators with an air-purifying filter), employers must ensure that the assigned protection factor is appropriate to the mode of operation in which the respirator is being used. Open (d)(3)(i)(a) 3 citations

(B) Maximum Use Concentration (MUC). Open (d)(3)(i)(b) 16 citations

(1) The employer must select a respirator for employee use that maintains the employee's exposure to the hazardous substance, when measured outside the respirator, at or below the MUC.

(2) Employers must not apply MUCs to conditions that are immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH); instead, they must use respirators listed for IDLH conditions in paragraph (d)(2) of this standard.

(3) When the calculated MUC exceeds the IDLH level for a hazardous substance, or the performance limits of the cartridge or canister, then employers must set the maximum MUC at that lower limit.

(ii) The respirator selected shall be appropriate for the chemical state and physical form of the contaminant. 4 citations

(iii) For protection against gases and vapors, the employer shall provide: Open (d)(3)(iii) 53 citations

(A) An atmosphere-supplying respirator, or

(B) An air-purifying respirator, provided that: Open (d)(3)(iii)(b) 52 citations

(1) The respirator is equipped with an end-of-service-life indicator (ESLI) certified by NIOSH for the contaminant; or

(2) If there is no ESLI appropriate for conditions in the employer's workplace, the employer implements a change schedule for canisters and cartridges that is based on objective information or data that will ensure that canisters and cartridges are changed before the end of their service life. The employer shall describe in the respirator program the information and data relied upon and the basis for the canister and cartridge change schedule and the basis for reliance on the data.

(iv) For protection against particulates, the employer shall provide: Open (d)(3)(iv) 1 citations

(A) An atmosphere-supplying respirator; or

(B) An air-purifying respirator equipped with a filter certified by NIOSH under 30 CFR part 11 as a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter, or an air-purifying respirator equipped with a filter certified for particulates by NIOSH under 42 CFR part 84; or Open (d)(3)(iv)(b)

(C) For contaminants consisting primarily of particles with mass median aerodynamic diameters (MMAD) of at least 2 micrometers, an air-purifying respirator equipped with any filter certified for particulates by NIOSH.

Table I—Assigned Protection Factors [Reserved]