An evaluation of respirator maintenance requirements

A telephone survey was developed as part of a pilot study to evaluate the inspection, cleaning, maintenance, and storage aspects of respirator protection programs (RPP). Regulations and consensus standards such as those published by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) or the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) require or recommend that RPP contain elements that ensure that the respirators provide proper protection. A great deal of research has been done to evaluate the effectiveness of new respirators; however, little research has been conducted to evaluate how respirators behave over time in real industrial settings Respirator inspection, cleaning, maintenance, and storage are significant factors in determining how well a respirator continues to perform. The telephone survey was developed by reviewing the requirements and recommendations of CFR 1910.134 and ANSI Z88.2-1980. Approximately 30 companies were selected based on their use of negative air-purifying respirators. Most of the companies represented the hardgoods manufacturing or service industries. Although the majority of companies were meeting requirements, responses indicated that the following improvements in RPP were necessary: (1) inspection of all respirator parts should be carried out before and after each use, (2) replacement parts should be made readily available on site, (3) regular cleaning should be performed, and (4) more hands-on practice with respirators and their maintenance should be incorporated into training sessions.