PROGRAM ELEMENTS
This section explains respirator program
requirements. It applies to all personnel and visitors who
enter an area where respiratory protective equipment is
necessary. This section does not address damage
control, gas free engineering, or underwater protection.
The respiratory protection program includes the
following elements:
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Written standard operating procedures
Proper, hazard-specific selection of respirators
User training in the proper operation and
limitations of respirators
Regular cleaning and disinfecting of respirators
Convenient, clean, and sanitary storage of
respirators
Inspection, repair, and maintenance of
respirators
Industrial hygiene surveys to identify operations
requiring respirators and recommend specific
types of respirators
Use of only those respirators approved by the
National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health (NIOSH) and Mine Safety and Health
Administration (MSHA)
TYPES OF RESPIRATORS
The two basic types of respirators are air-purifying
and atmosphere-supply. We will explain each in the
following paragraphs.
Air-Purifying Respirators
This type of respirator removes air contaminants by
filtering them or by absorbing them as the air passes
through the cartridge. In all cases when using
air-purifying respirators, the atmosphere must contain
enough oxygen, at least 19.5 percent by volume. They
are available with different types of facepieces for
different levels of protection, and they come in
disposable and reusable models. The cartridges, filters,
and prefilters must be a type that is effective against the
contaminant present at the time of use. Air-purifying
respirators may be either nonpowered or powered. The
nonpowered type depends on the user’s lungs while the
powered type uses a fan to lower breathing resistance.
Air-purifying respirators are divided into two types that
we will explain in the next paragraphs. One protects
against particulate and the other protects against gas and
vapor.
PARTICULATE
AIR-PURIFYING
RESPIRATORS.– These respirators use cartridges,
filters, and prefilters to protect against aerosols, that is,
solid or liquid particles dispersed in air. They remove
toxic and nontoxic dust, fog, fumes, mist, smoke, and
sprays either singly or in combination.
GAS AND VAPOR AIR-PURIFYING
RESPIRATORS.– These respirators use cartridges and
canisters to remove contaminants through absorption.
Most cartridges remove a specific type of gas or vapor,
such as organic vapors, acid gases, ammonia, or carbon
monoxide.
FILTERS,
CARTRIDGES,
AND
CANISTERS.– Some manufacturers of air-purifying
respirators combine the removal capabilities of two or
more type cartridges in a single cartridge. Others allow
you to screw together cartridges and combine their
capabilities. All manufacturers allow you to attach a
prefilter to a cartridge and combine different degrees of
particulate removal. Always follow the manufacturer’s
recommendations when you combine filters, cartridges,
and canisters.
Federal regulations require that each type of
respirator cartridge/canister be color-coded to identify
its intended use. See the Navy Occupational Safely and
Health (NAVOSH) Program Manual, OPNAVINST
1500. 19B, for information on color coding.
Each cartridge/canister is labeled with the
contaminant(s) it protects against and the
NIOSH/MSHA approval number. Some labels may
provide more information about the cartridge’s
capabilities and limitations.
Atmosphere-Supplying Respirator
These types of respirators are used when the
contaminant has no warning property (odor), when the
contaminant’s concentration is too high to use an
air-purifying respirator, or when the environment is
immediately dangerous to life and health (IDLH). The
two types of atmosphere-supplying respirators are
supplied-air respirators and self-contained breathing
apparatuses (SCBA). We will explain each of them in
the following paragraphs.
SUPPLIED-AIR RESPIRATORS.– These are
further divided into hose masks and air-line respirators
described in the next paragraphs.
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