OSHA has a Respiratory Protection Standard that deals with respirators just as it has a Bloodborne Pathogens Standard that deals with exposure to blood and certain other body fluids. The respirator is the basic workhorse for healthcare applications for airborne biological pathogens. respirators differ from masks because respirators are designed to seal tightly against the user’s face, while masks are not so designed. The Respiratory Protection Standard requires the following whenever the use of respirators is required
Written Respiratory Protection Program
OSHA provides a template for creating a written RPP in the Small Entity Compliance Guide. CDC provides another template in its Respiratory Protection Toolkit. An edited and modified version of the CDC document, applicable only to respirator respirators, and suitable for use for non-hospital applications, has been prepared and is available from Stericycle.
The employer provides a copy of the questionnaire for the employee to fill out, but the completed questionnaire is not shared with the employer. It is a confidential document. It is shared only with the healthcare professional who will review it and decide whether or not an actual physical exam is necessary.
Healthcare Physicians
The employer is informed by the MEQ Physicians simply as to whether or not the individual is cleared to wear a respirator based upon the information provided in the questionnaire. Medical clearance is not an annual requirement. It is obtained before a person is permitted to wear the required respirator and is not repeated unless there is some change that requires it.
Annual Fit Testing
Is fit testing really required for respirators? The answer is yes. Whenever respirators are required, then the full requirements of the Respiratory Protection Standard are triggered, including initial and annual fit testing even for respirator respirators. You may choose to send your employees to outside organizations capable of offering fit testing, or you may choose to learn to do it in-house.
Materials
Materials needed for conducting fit testing are available from respirator manufacturers and suppliers. And certain respirator manufacturers provide excellent videos on YouTube that show how to fit test respirator respirators. Please refer to the video resources mentioned below under Annual Training for full instruction on performing fit testing for respirators