OSHA Respiratory Protection – 29 CFR 1910.134

Employees may be exposed to hazardous airborne contaminants during construction, manufacturing, maintenance, painting, welding, chemical handling, confined-space work, and many other workplace activities. Respiratory hazards can include dusts, fumes, mists, gases, vapors, smoke, and oxygen-deficient atmospheres.

Exposure may result in respiratory irritation, poisoning, occupational disease, cancer, or death.

OSHA’s Respiratory Protection Standard, 29 CFR 1910.134, establishes requirements for protecting employees when respiratory hazards cannot be adequately controlled through other means.

Controlling Respiratory Hazards

Whenever feasible, employers should first control airborne hazards through engineering and work-practice controls such as ventilation, enclosure, isolation, wet methods, process changes, or substitution with less hazardous materials.

When these controls are not feasible or do not adequately reduce exposure, appropriate respiratory protection must be provided. Respirators may also be necessary during emergencies, maintenance operations, confined-space entry, or while engineering controls are being implemented.

Types of Respirators

Respirators generally protect employees in two ways:

Air-Purifying Respirators (APRs) remove contaminants from the surrounding air. These include filtering facepiece respirators such as N95s, elastomeric respirators, and powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs). Filters or cartridges must be appropriate for the specific contaminant.

Atmosphere-Supplying Respirators provide breathable air from a source independent of the surrounding atmosphere. These include supplied-air respirators (SARs) and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA).

Air-purifying respirators do not supply oxygen and cannot be used in oxygen-deficient or IDLH atmospheres when they cannot provide the required protection.

Respirator Selection

Before selecting respiratory protection, employers must identify and evaluate the respiratory hazards present.

Considerations include:

Type and concentration of airborne contaminants.
Applicable occupational exposure limits.
Oxygen concentration.
Nature and duration of the work.
Workplace and environmental conditions.
Required level of respiratory protection.
Respirator capabilities and limitations.

Respirators required by OSHA must be NIOSH-approved and used in accordance with the conditions of their approval.

Written Respiratory Protection Program

When respirators are necessary to protect employees or are required by the employer, OSHA requires a written Respiratory Protection Program with worksite-specific procedures.

Depending on the workplace, the program must address: respiratory protection

Respirator selection.
Medical evaluations.
Fit testing.
Proper respirator use.
Routine and emergency use.
Cleaning and disinfecting.
Storage and inspection.
Repair and maintenance.
Breathing-air quality for atmosphere-supplying respirators.
Employee training.
Program evaluation.

A qualified Respiratory Protection Program Administrator must administer or oversee the program.

Medical Evaluations

Wearing a respirator can place additional physiological stress on an employee.

Before an employee is fit tested or required to use a respirator, the employer must provide a medical evaluation to determine whether the employee is medically able to use the respirator.

The evaluation must be performed by a physician or other licensed health care professional using OSHA’s medical questionnaire or an examination that obtains the required information.

Additional medical evaluations may be necessary when an employee reports relevant symptoms, a healthcare professional or program administrator recommends reevaluation, program observations indicate a need, or workplace conditions substantially increase the physiological burden of respirator use.

Respirator Fit Testing

Employees required to use a tight-fitting respirator must pass an appropriate qualitative or quantitative fit test.

Fit testing is required:

Before initial respirator use.
Whenever a different respirator facepiece size, style, model, or make is used.
At least annually thereafter.
When physical changes could affect respirator fit.

The employee must be fit tested with the same make, model, style, and size of respirator that will actually be used.

Facial Hair and Respirator Seals

A tight-fitting respirator must maintain an effective seal against the employee’s face.

Facial hair cannot be permitted where it comes between the sealing surface of the facepiece and the face or interferes with valve function.

Employees must also perform a user seal check each time a tight-fitting respirator is put on. Eyeglasses, goggles, or other PPE must not interfere with the respirator seal.

A user seal check is not a substitute for OSHA-required fit testing.

Filters and Cartridges

Filters, cartridges, and canisters must be selected for the contaminant involved. A cartridge designed for one substance may provide little or no protection against another.

Where required, employers must use an appropriate end-of-service-life indicator (ESLI) or establish an objective cartridge change schedule.

Employees should never rely solely on smell, taste, or irritation to determine when a cartridge should be replaced.

Oxygen-Deficient and IDLH Atmospheres

OSHA considers an atmosphere containing less than 19.5 percent oxygen to be oxygen deficient.

Immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH) and oxygen-deficient atmospheres require specifically selected atmosphere-supplying respiratory protection and additional precautions.

Air-purifying respirators must not be used in an atmosphere where they cannot provide the required protection.

Inspection, Cleaning, and Storage

Respirators must be properly inspected, cleaned, maintained, and stored so they remain effective.

Employees should inspect respirators for conditions such as:

Damaged facepieces.
Worn or damaged straps.
Defective valves.
Damaged filters or cartridges.
Deteriorated seals.
Damaged hoses or connections.
Missing or defective components.

Defective respirators must be removed from service or properly repaired.

Respirators must be kept clean and sanitary and stored where they are protected from contamination, dust, sunlight, moisture, chemicals, extreme temperatures, and physical damage.

Respiratory Protection Training

Employees required to use respirators must receive training before respirator use.

Training must enable employees to understand:

Why respiratory protection is necessary.
How improper fit, use, or maintenance can compromise protection.
Respirator capabilities and limitations.
How to inspect, put on, remove, use, and check the respirator’s seals.
Procedures for maintenance and storage.
How to recognize medical signs or symptoms that may limit or prevent respirator use.
Applicable requirements of the OSHA Respiratory Protection Standard.

OSHA requires retraining annually and when workplace or respirator changes, inadequate employee knowledge, or other circumstances make additional training necessary.

Voluntary Respirator Use

Different requirements may apply when employees choose to use respirators even though respirator use is not required.

When voluntary respirator use is permitted, the employer must determine that the use itself will not create a hazard and provide employees with the information contained in Appendix D to 29 CFR 1910.134.

Additional Respiratory Protection Program requirements can apply to voluntary respirator use. However, OSHA provides an exception for employees whose only voluntary respirator use involves filtering facepieces, such as disposable dust masks or N95-type filtering facepieces.

Employers should determine whether respirator use is truly voluntary before relying on this exception.

Evaluating the Respiratory Protection Program

Employers must evaluate the workplace as necessary to ensure the written Respiratory Protection Program is being properly implemented and remains effective.

Employees required to wear respirators should be consulted about issues such as:

Respirator fit.
Proper respirator selection.
Use under actual workplace conditions.
Respirator maintenance.

Problems identified during the evaluation must be corrected.

Basic Respiratory Protection Rules

Effective respiratory protection requires employers and employees to:

Identify and evaluate respiratory hazards.
Use engineering and work-practice controls whenever feasible.
Select the correct NIOSH-approved respirator for the hazard.
Complete required medical evaluations and fit testing.
Maintain an effective facepiece seal.
Use the correct filters and cartridges.
Inspect, clean, maintain, and properly store respirators.
Understand respirator capabilities and limitations.
Provide required employee training and retraining.
Regularly evaluate the effectiveness of the Respiratory Protection Program.

Respirators can provide essential protection against hazardous airborne contaminants, but they are effective only when properly selected, fitted, used, and maintained as part of an effective respiratory protection program.

For additional regulatory information, see OSHA 29 CFR 1910.134 – Respiratory Protection.

For company-specific responsibilities, procedures, respirator selection, medical evaluations, fit testing, maintenance, training, recordkeeping, and program administration, refer to the company’s Respiratory Protection Program.