OSHA releases new respirator fit rules

October 7th, 2019 by Dakota Software Staff

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently released a final rule that expands employer options for ensuring protective equipment for employees, namely respirators, properly fits to their faces. The new rules are expected to save employers a significant amount of money in the long run, EHS Today reported, due to the shorter duration of the testing process. Overall, employers will save a projected 201,640 hours annually.

While these costs will be spread across the economy as a whole through all businesses that have to equip their staff with respirators, it could lead to a noticeable change for companies where the use of this personal protective equipment is widespread.

Changes to respirator fit rules may provide additional flexibility for businesses.

Detailing the new respirator fit rules

The official names for the two respirator testing alternatives, which are variations of the existing ambient aerosol condensation nuclei counter protocol, are:

• Modified ambient aerosol condensation nuclei counter quantitative fit testing protocol for full-face piece and half-mask elastomeric respirators.
• Modified ambient aerosol condensation nuclei counter quantitative fit testing protocol for filtering face piece respirators.

With these two variations now part of OSHA's final rule, employers have six potential options to draw from when it comes time to fit employees with new equipment. In its press release, the federal health and safety watchdog pointed out that businesses in the fields of general industry, shipyard employment and construction do not have to take any immediate action in terms of altering their current approach to testing. This is an important distinction in terms of cost savings, as employers have no additional responsibilities or requirements when it comes to choosing to use these new standards.

EHS Daily Advisor pointed out a few of the specifics that reduce the testing burden on businesses. The changes in the new protocol for full-face piece and half-mask elastomeric respirators include using only three of the eight total test exercises required as a part of the ambient aerosol condensation nuclei counter protocol and lowering the total test duration by roughly two-thirds, bringing it down to just 2.5 minutes. For filtering face piece respirators, four of the original eight exercises are included in the new protocol.

The rule came into effect on Sept. 26 and is immediately actionable. To effectively adhere to these new standards and the many other EHS rules implemented and changed by federal and state agencies, businesses need a strong grasp of their intent and specifics. Get in touch with Dakota Software to learn how we can support your company's efforts to achieve a high degree of widespread EHS compliance.