Items Tagged with 'Respirator safety'

Tumwater, WA — Ethylene oxide should not be used to sterilize filtering facepiece respirators for reuse because “this extremely hazardous toxic chemical poses a severe risk to human health,” the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries warns in a new alert.

Washington — In an effort to better protect workers in the health care and public safety sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic, NIOSH is approving a new class of powered air-purifying respirators, under an interim final rule published by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Washington — OSHA recently released a poster and video that detail seven steps to properly put on and remove a respirator at work.

Washington — In effort to preserve the supply of N95 filtering facepiece respirators during the COVID-19 pandemic, OSHA is permitting the reuse of respirators that undergo certain decontamination processes, according to an April 24 temporary enforcement memo.

Bethesda, MD — Three methods to decontaminate N95 filtering facepiece respirators for reuse are being recommended by the National Institutes of Health after researchers at the agency successfully tested their effectiveness and the repeat functional integrity of the respirator after each sanitization.

Washington — OSHA is extending its temporary leniency on annual respirator fit testing to all covered employers, not only those in the health care industry.

Washington — A new video is aimed at helping organizations – particularly those in health care – understand the qualitative fit testing process.

Why do some employers fail to follow fit testing requirements? Experts weigh in on the challenges and go over the basics.

Washington — The Environmental Protection Agency has released a draft of its revised respirator descriptions for pesticide labels and is seeking public comment.