Respiratory Protection, General Industry – Regulation 29 CFR 1910.134

September 12, 2023|Respiratory, Safety

Enforcement from Oct 2021 through Sept 2022

Total citations: 2,395

Total inspections: 1,077

Total proposed penalties: $4,901,384

Most Frequently Violated OSHA Standard Ranking – Number 3

Industries most often violating the respiratory protection standard:

Health Care and Social Assistance: 761 citations, 368 inspections, $2,293,206 in penalties
Manufacturing: 852, 366, $1,527,001
Construction: 237, 115, $348,447
Other Services (except Public Administration): 139, 51, $127,912
Wholesale Trade: 93, 33, $118,967
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services: 77, 31, $102,628
Arts, Entertainment and Recreation: 45, 16, $48,485
Public Administration: 40, 20, $7,748
Retail Trade: 31, 12, $40,835
Transportation and Warehousing: 24, 12, $88,050
Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction: 18, 12, $61,562
Accommodation and Food Services: 16, 7, $24,278
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services: 11, 7, $39,070

Why is Respiratory Protection Needed?

Millions of workers are required to wear respirators in various workplaces throughout the United States. Respirators protect workers against insufficient oxygen environments, harmful dusts, fogs, smokes, mists, gases, vapors and sprays. These hazards may cause cancer, lung impairment, diseases, or death. Compliance with the OSHA Respiratory Protection Standard could avert hundreds of deaths and thousands of illnesses annually.

Respirators protect the user in two basic ways. The first is by the removal of contaminants from the air. Respirators of this type include particulate respirators, which filter out airborne particles, and air-purifying respirators with cartridges/canisters which filter out chemicals and gases. Other respirators protect by supplying clean respirable air from another source. Respirators that fall into this category include airline respirators, which use compressed air from a remote source, and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), which include their own air supply.

Respiratory Selection

Selecting the right respirator requires an assessment of all the workplace operations, processes or environments that may create a respiratory hazard. The identity of the hazard and its airborne concentrations need to be determined before choosing a respirator. This assessment should be done by experienced safety personnel or by an industrial hygienist. There are several different types of respirators:

Particulate Respirators: Particulate respirators are the simplest, least expensive, and least protective of the respirator types available. These respirators only protect against particles (e.g., dust). They do not protect against chemicals, gases, or vapors, and are intended only for low hazard levels. The commonly known “N-95” filtering facepiece respirator or “dust mask” is one type of particulate respirator, often used in hospitals to protect against infectious agents. Particulate respirators are “air-purifying respirators” because they clean particles out of the air as you breathe. Particulate respirators:

Filter out dusts, fumes and mists.
Are usually disposable dust masks or respirators with disposable filters.
Must be replaced when they become discolored, damaged or clogged.

Examples: filtering facepiece or elastomeric respirator.

Chemical Cartridge/Gas Mask Respirator: Gas masks are also known as “air-purifying respirators” because they filter or clean chemical gases out of the air as you breathe. This respirator includes a facepiece or mask, and a cartridge or canister. Straps secure the facepiece to the head. The cartridge may also have a filter to remove particles.

Gas masks are effective only if used with the correct cartridge or filter (these terms are often used interchangeably) for a particular biological or chemical substance. Selecting the proper filter can be a complicated process. There are cartridges available that protect against more than one hazard, but there is no “all-in-one” cartridge that protects against all substances. It is important to know what hazards you will face in order to be certain you are choosing the right filters/cartridges. Chemical Cartridge/Gas Mask respirators:

Use replaceable chemical cartridges or canisters to remove the contaminant.
Are color-coded to help you select the right one.
May require more than one cartridge to protect against multiple hazards.

Powered Air-Purifying Respirator (PAPR): Powered air-purifying respirators use a fan to draw air through the filter to the user. They are easier to breathe through; however, they need a fully charged battery to work properly. They use the same type of filters/cartridges as other air-purifying respirators. It is important to know what the hazard is, and how much of it is in the air, in order to select the proper filters/cartridges.

Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) is the respirator commonly used by firefighters. These use their own air tank to supply clean air, so you don’t need to worry about filters. They also protect against higher concentrations of dangerous chemicals. However, they are very heavy (30 pounds or more) and require very special training on how to use and to maintain them. Also, the air tanks typically last an hour or less depending upon their rating and your breathing rate (how hard you are breathing). SCBAs are available in either half-mask or full-face pieces, except for the “dust masks” or filtering face pieces. SCBA’s:

Provide clean air from a portable air tank when the air around you is simply too dangerous to breathe.

Optional Features Available For Respirators

Various features are available to help you customize respirators to suit your employees and the specific hazards they encounter. For example, nose cups reduce lens fogging with full facepiece respirators and lens covers protect the lens from paint, minor chemical splash and scratches.

Spectacle kits are needed when using prescription corrective lenses. The frame mounts into full-face masks, and the prescription lenses are made by the users’ optometrist. This allows the wearer to maintain a proper fit and still wear prescription lenses.

Limitations of Respirator Wear

Facial hair: Anything that prevents the face mask from fitting tightly against the wearer’s face, such as a beard or long sideburns, may cause leakage. If your respirator requires a tight fit, you must trim back your beard so that it will not interfere with the face-facepiece seal. If your respirator is a loose-fitting (hooded) positive pressure respirator (e.g., a powered air-purifying respirator, PAPR) then you may have a beard.

Health conditions: People with lung diseases, such as asthma or emphysema, elderly people, and others may have trouble breathing while wearing a respirator. People with claustrophobia may not be able to wear a full facepiece or hooded respirator. People with vision problems may have trouble seeing while wearing a mask or hood (there are special masks for people who need glasses). Employees must be medically evaluated before being assigned to use a respirator. WMHS