OSHA Standards
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration
What is OSHA?
This type of respirator removes gases, vapors, or particles from the air by pulling ambient air through a filtration element
What is an Air-Purifying Respirator (APR)?
This is how often a tight-fitting respirator user must undergo a mandatory fit test.
What is annually?
This four-letter acronym stands for an atmospheric condition that poses an immediate threat to life or would cause irreversible adverse health effects.
What is IDLH?
(Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health).
This color code is universally used on NIOSH-approved cartridges designed to protect against organic vapors.
What is Black?
This individual is designated by the employer to oversee the respiratory program and conduct required evaluations.
Who is the Program Administrator?
This specific letter designation indicates a particulate filter is completely resistant to oil degradation
What does the letter P on a filter signify?
This acronym refers to the medical professional (like a physician or nurse practitioner) authorized by OSHA to review the medical questionnaire.
What is a PLHCP?
(Physician or Other Licensed Health Care Professional)
An atmosphere is legally considered oxygen-deficient by OSHA when the oxygen concentration drops below this percentage by volume.
What is 19.5%?
In the absence of an ESLI (end of service life indicator), an employer must develop and implement this data-driven schedule to ensure chemical cartridges are swapped before breakthrough occurs.
What is a Cartridge Change-out Schedule?
This federal agency is solely responsible for testing, evaluating, and officially certifying all respiratory protective devices used in the United States
What is NIOSH? (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health).
This type of respirator delivers clean, breathable air to the user from a source completely independent of the surrounding work environment
What is an Atmosphere-Supplying Respirator?
This type of fit testing uses an instrument to numerically measure the leakage around the facepiece seal.
What is Quantitative Fit Testing (QNFT)?
When utilizing a cylinder-fed airline respirator in an IDLH environment, the user must carry this auxiliary device.
What is an emergency escape self-contained air supply (escape bottle/SCBA)?
This cartridge is designed to protect the wearer from Organic Vapors and Acid Gases
What is the Yellow Cartridge?
1910.134(c)(2)
Where do we find the standard that allows employee to wear a respirator on a purely voluntary basis?
According to the standard, emergency-use respirators (like an SCBA kept in a plant cabinet) must be physically inspected at this minimum time interval.
What is monthly?
This mandatory OSHA document is found in Appendix C and contains questions regarding a worker's pulmonary and cardiovascular health.
What is the OSHA Respirator Medical Evaluation Questionnaire?
Compressed breathing air supplied to a respirator must meet or exceed the requirements for this specific "Grade" of air.
What is Grade D breathing air?
If a worker is exposed to a contaminant with a PEL of 5 ppm, and the ambient concentration is measured at 200 ppm, this is the minimum APF required to keep them safe.
What is an APF of 40?
(200 ppm / 5 ppm = 40; a full facepiece with an APF of 50 would be needed)