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Chapter 6 Respiratory Protection

Center To Protect Workers’ Rights 183

RESPIRATORY 6PROTECTION

In this chapter you will learn about: What respirators are; Why you should wear a respirator when

you work with lead; How respirators work; Why respirators are not perfect; How respirators should fit; Who can wear a respirator; Which respirators are allowed on lead

jobs; How to figure out if you have the right

respirator for the job; What your employer has to do before giving

you a respirator; How to make sure your respirator fits; How to take care of your respirator; and How to clean, inspect, maintain, and store

your respirator.

What is a Respirator?

Respiratory Protection Chapter 6

Center To Protect Workers’ Rights184

A respirator is a mask (facepiece) that protects your lungs fromhazards. It filters the air in the work room or supplies clean airfrom outside the work room. Some respirators have filters thatfilter out lead particles and other particle and/or fibercontaminants from the air. These are calledhigh efficiency particulate air or HEPAfilters. Other respirators pump fresh airthrough a hose rather than filtering existing,or ambient, air. Paper (nuisance) dust masksare not adequate respirators. They will notprotect you from lead and are not allowed onlead jobs.

The OSHA Standard says that before youcan wear a respirator, you must get medically evaluated, trained,and fit tested.

A Respirator is only as Good as its Fit If you wear a respirator that doesn't fit you, air and lead will

leak in around the sides (sealing surfaces) of the facepiece. Insteadof being caught in the filters, the lead will go into your lungs. Thisrespirator leakage is why the OSHA says you must have a fit testbefore you can wear a respirator and at least annually thereafter. Afit test tells you if the respirator (brand, model, and size) is sealedaround your face. A respirator that does not fit looks the same asone that does. There is no way to tell if a respirator protects youjust by looking at it.

Qualitative Fit Test. This fittest measures the quality of therespirator seal on your face. Thequalified person conducting thefit test first checks the sensitivityof the worker to one of fourchemical agents: Bitrex®,irritant smoke, synthetic bananaoil, or saccharine. Once thesensitivity to an chemical testing



agent has been established and the worker has donned, adjusted,seal checked, and worn the facepiece for several minutes, the fittest begins. During the test, several activities are carried out by theworker as the chemical testing agent is put into the worker’spersonal breathing zone. If the chemical’s vapors leak into themask, the worker will taste and/or smell it. This means the maskdoes not fit well enough to keep the contaminant out of your lungs.After about 20 minutes, the worker can be retested, havingadjusted the respirator or selected a different size, make, andmodel.

Quantitative Fit Test. This fittest also measures the quality ofthe respirator seal on your face.The qualified person conductingthe fit test first connects a tubefrom a computer-basedquantitative fit-testing device tothe end of the probe inserted intothe facepiece you have donned,adjusted, seal checked, and wornfor several minutes. During thetest, several activities are carriedout by the worker as the electronicfit test device compares the

number of particles outside the facepiece to those inside thefacepiece. If the fit test fails, it means the mask does not fit wellenough to keep the contaminant out of your lungs. After about 20minutes, the worker can be retested, having adjusted the respiratoror selected a different size, make, and model.

You must have a fit test on every respirator that is given to youfor protection. This testing is done when you first get a respiratorand every year after that. But you may also be tested sooner than ayear if you drastically lose or gain weight, lose teeth or get newdentures, break your nose – any major facial changes.



Not Everyone can wear a Respirator Some people have a hard time finding a respirator to fit their

face. If you have a beard, mustache, or even a single day’s growth offacial hair where the respirator seals, you cannot wear atight-fitting respirator. You must shave if you have any facial hair that interferes with the sealing surface of a respirator.

You need to have a medical evaluation to be sure that yourlungs and heart are strong enough to take the strain of workingwith a respirator. You must have a physician or other licensedhealth care professional evaluate your health, the lungs, and heartin particular before you wear a respirator on the job.

If you feel very anxious, a little faint, and shaky when you firsttry a respirator on, you may not be able to wear a respirator. Youmay want to try the respirator on a second time to be sure. Youmay have claustrophobia, a fear of tight, close, or confined spaces.

When do you Wear a Respirator?Lead in the air is measured in micrograms (ug) per cubic meter

(m3) of air. A cubic meter is roughly about the size of a streetmailbox. You breathe about one cubic meter of air every hour whenyou are working. A microgram is one-millionth of a gram.

The OSHA Lead Standard says that you must wear a respiratorwhenever lead in the air may reach 50 micrograms of lead percubic meter of air in an 8–hour day. This is the OSHA PermissibleExposure Limit (PEL). Your employer must do air sampling to findout how much lead is in the air on your job. If you work a 10–hourshift, your PEL is 40 ug/m3. This is the time-weighted average(TWA) amount of lead particles over 8 hours.

OSHA has another legal limit for airborne lead exposure calledthe Action Level. The Action Level for lead is 30 ug/m3. If you areexposed to lead above the Action Level, your employer mustmeasure the amount of lead in the air at least every 6 months. The HUD Guidelines of September 1990 state that “...respirators must be worn by all workers [who work on HUDprojects and are] potentially exposed to lead.]" This means that allworkers on a HUD lead project must wear respirators.



Finally, the OSHA Lead Standard says that anytime you work withlead regardless of your exposure, your employer must provide arespirator to you if you request one.

Tasks that Require You to Wear a Respirator Sometimes you may be working with lead when your employer

does not know how much lead is in the air. Air sampling for leadparticles takes time. The OSHA Lead Standard protects workerseven before air sampling results are available. By law, youremployer must assume there is a certain amount of lead in the airwhen you do certain tasks until air sampling is done. The OSHALead Standard divides these tasks into three classes. Each classrequires the use of specific respirators.

Lead-related TasksThe type of respirator you wear depends on the task you are

doing and how much lead dust gets in the air.

Class 1 Tasks (up to 500 ug/m3) Manual demolition of structures Manual scraping or sanding Using a heat gun Power tool cleaning with dust

collection systems Spray painting with lead-based paint

Class 2 Tasks (up to 2,500 ug/m3) Using lead-based mortar Burning lead Rivet busting Power tool cleaning without dust collection systems Cleaning up with dry abrasives Moving and tearing down abrasive blasting enclosures

Right angleHEPA grinder



Class 3 Tasks (over 2,500 ug/m3) Abrasive blasting Welding Cutting Torch burning



Exposure Assessment The OSHA Lead Standard requires your employer to find out

what your lead exposure will be. This is called exposureassessment. Exposure assessment can be air sampling, pastexposure data from the same or similar jobs, or objective data fromother sources such as research studies.

Your employer should check the air on the job for lead. He orshe can check the air in the work area and in the air around theworkers. This is called air sampling. Air samples of the work areaare called area air samples. Air samples of the air around themouth and nose of the worker are called personal air samples.

If your employer does exposure monitoring and air sampling,you must be given air sampling results in writing within 5 (five)working days after the contractor receives the results.

No Respirator is Perfect Every kind of respirator has its good and bad points. Every

respirator leaks. Some respirators protect you more than others.How much lead can a respirator handle? Some respirators arebetter than others at keeping lead out of your lungs.

There are many kinds of respirators used on lead abatementjobs. Which respirator you wear depends on the amount of lead inthe air. Your employer must do air sampling and then decide whatkind of respirator and filters the workers need.

Each respirator on the following pages has a Protection Factor(PF). A respirator's Protection Factor is a measure of how well itshould protect you from lead. Protection Factors go from 10to 10,000. You won't get the amount of protection assigned to a respirator unless it fits and is used properly. A higher Protection Factor means the respirator protects you more.



Respirator TypesA half-mask, air-purifying respirator is the

simplest respirator you may use on a lead job.It is the least protective respirator the lawallows. The bottom of the facepiece (the widepart) goes under your chin. The top of the facepiece (the narrow part ) goes over your nose.Two color-coded magenta High EfficiencyParticulate Air filters trap the lead in the airbeing breathed into the facepiece by theworker.

This is a negative pressure respirator.When you breathe in, your lungs and heart work to pull air throughthe filters. This makes a suction, or negative pressure, inside themask. Breathing through a negative pressure respirator takes someeffort. The face piece has to form an air-tight seal on your nose,cheeks, and chin. For every 10 micrograms of lead in the air, 1leaks into the mask. If your respirator does not fit perfectly, moreair and lead will leak in around the edges of the mask.

A full-face, air-purifying respirator fits the same way as aha1f-mask, except the top of the face piece goes all the way aroundyour face and across your forehead. It also is a negative-pressurerespirator. When you breathe in, it makes a suction, or negativepressure inside the face piece. The facepiece has to fit perfectly onyour forehead, the sides of your face,and your chin. For every 50 microgramsin the air, 1 leaks into the mask. If itdoes not form an airtight seal, more airand lead will leak in around the edgesof the mask.

If there is not enough oxygen in thework area, do not use any air-purifyingrespirator. If you create fumes whenyou work, or use chemical solvents,



then you will need a different type of filter – and maybe even adifferent respirator. You cannot wear your regular glasses with afull-face respirator. The side bars of the glasses break the seal ofthe mask. If you wear glasses, your employer has to pay for specialglasses and a frame that holds your lenses in place inside thefull-face respirator.

A tight-fitting powered air-purifyingrespirator is a negative pressure respiratorwith an air pump. It usually has a single,large filter or cartridge. The air pump and thefilter can be on a belt or on the face piece. Thepump sends the ambient air through the filterand into the mask. Because a PAPR ispowered with a pump, your lungs and heartdo not have to work so hard. The air pumpdoes a lot of the work. For every 1000micrograms in the air, 1 leaks into the mask.But if the batteries are low or quit altogether,a PAPR is no better than a negative-pressure,full-face respirator.

A PAPR may also leak if the filters areclogged with dust or if you breathe to hard.

The PAPR blows air at the same rate – no matter how hard youbreathe. If you breathe in too hard, it makes a suction, or negativepressure, inside the face piece. If the PAPR does not have an air-tight seal, air and lead will leak in around the edges of the facepiece. This is called over-breathing the respirator.

There are also PAPRs that are loose-fitting. Loose-fittingPAPRs are very similar to tight-fitting PAPRs except that theyhave large, loose hoods – no tight fit. If the battery fails with aloose-fitting hood, you have very little protection. Loose-fittingrespirators have lower protection factors than tight-fittingrespirators.

And there are PAPRs that operate with a helmet or a hood.



OSHA rates this type of PAPR atthe same level as a tight-fittingPAPR when positive-pressure ismaintained during wear; however,it’s protection rating drops to that ofa loose-fitting PAPR when positive-pressure is not maintained.

A Type C respirator is verydifferent from the other three respirators. It is a supplied-airrespirator. Fresh air comes in through a hose from a source outsidethe room. Type C respirators are positive-pressure respirators. The

air coming through the hosepushes lead particles away fromthe mask. For every 1000micrograms in the air, 1 leaks intothe mask.

Type C pressure-demandrespirators have a small valvewhich controls airflow. The valvemakes sure the respirator givesyou more air when you breatheharder. With a pressure-demandrespirator, you always have

positive-pressure. Type C continuous-flow respirators do not havethe airflow control valve. They pump air at a constant rate nomatter how hard you breathe. They can become negative pressure.Pressure-demand is more protective than continuous-flow.

There are problems with Type C respirators. You can trip on thehose or get it caught on equipment in the work area. If the hosegets damaged, your air supply may get cut off. So, you always needto carry an extra filter or a bottle of air.

Type C respirators are not used for residential lead paintabatement. They are used for abatement of lead-painted bridges orother industrial steel structures. The amount of lead dust duringthese projects is extremely high.

A self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) is a fire-fighter's



respirator. When you wear aSCBA, you carry a tank of air withyou on your back. A SCBA can beoperated in a pressure-demand orpositive-pressure mode. Youshould wear a SCBA if you areworking in an area with explosivegases or with lots of lead dust. Forevery 10,000 micrograms in theair, 1 leaks into the mask.

A Type CE respirator is a supplied-air respirator with a hood orhelmet attached to the mask. Your employer should give you aType CE respirator if you are doing blasting work.

There are two different kinds of Type CE respirators available.The first type has a flexible hood made of a heavy-duty materialcalled Hypalon®. Hypalon® is nylon with a rubber coating. It istough enough to protect you against flying grit or shot. The hoodcovers your head and shoulders. Some cover your body down to thewaist. The respirator mask (a full-face mask is needed for blastinglead) is built into the hood. A muff, or collar, fits around your neck.

The second kind of Type CE respirator has a helmet. Thehelmet will also protect you against grit and shot. It is rigid like ahard hat. A face shield covers your face and a flap covers your neckand shoulders.

Type CE respirators are supplied-air respirators. They supplyfresh air to the worker through a hose from an outside source. Theycan be operated in a pressure-demand mode or a continuous-flowmode. To tell if your CE respirator is pressure-demand, look at themask – it must be tight fitting; and the regulator – it must be apressure-demand regulator. A CE respirator is pressure-demandonly if it has both a tight fitting mask and a pressure-demandregulator.

How Do You Know it's the Right Respirator?When you see your air sampling results, how can you tell which

respirator will protect you enough? You need to know the



respirator's limit or Maximum Use Concentration (MUC). The leadMUC is the amount of lead that a particular respirator can protectyou from.

To figure out the lead MUC for a respirator, multiply the PELfor lead (50 ug/m3) by the respirator's Protection Factor.

PEL x PF = MUC

The PEL is the highest amount of lead the law says you canbreathe. This means that OSHA says you allowed to breathe 50micrograms of lead for every cubic meter of air you breathe. ThePEL is what you are permitted to breathe, not necessarily what issafe to breathe.

The lead Protection Factor (PF) tells you how much lead leaksinto your mask compared to the amount of lead outside your mask.

You need to keep the level of lead inside your respirator belowthe PEL (50 ug/m3). You should change to a respirator with ahigher PF if you get sampling results close to the lead MUC.

RESPIRATOR CAREWhat You Have To Do

You are the one who cares the most about whether yourrespirator works. If it is not in perfect shape, you could breathelead. Learn how to use your respirator and take care of it.

Inspect Your Respirator Before Each Use.A respirator can't help you unless it's in perfect shape. You need

to inspect your respirator before you put it on. Make sure all theparts are there, that they are in good shape, and that all the partsare in the right place.

If you find anything wrong with your respirator, do not wear ituntil it is fixed. No one should fix your respirator unless he or sheknows how to fix it.



Whenever you get a new respirator, look at the manufacturer'shandbook. There should be a section or a page in the handbook thatshows all the parts of your respirator. Make sure that yourrespirator has all its parts. Replacement respirator parts have tocome from the same manufacturer that made the respirator. Inother words, you may not use MSA® filters on a Scott® respirator.You may not use 3M® valves on a North® respirator.



Know How to Put On a Respirator.When you put on a respirator, put the mask on your face first.

Smile and frown and move your face around. Be sure the edges of



the mask fit your face. Fasten the bottom strap (the one that goesaround the back of your neck). Tighten the bottom strap. Thestraps need to hold the respirator on your face. Do not make themtoo tight. The mask will dig into your skin, which will make ituncomfortable. Pull the top strap over your head. Tighten the topstrap. Pull both sides at the same time. Then do the two sealchecks.

Do Seal Checks Every Time You Put a Respirator OnFit tests every 12 months make sure that you have the right

respirator. You also have to check your respirator’s seal every timeyou put it on. The checks you do yourself are called a negative-pressure seal check and a positive-pressure seal check. You mustdo both of these seal checks every time you put on the respirator.You can only do both these seal checks on a tight-fitting respirator.(A tight-fitting respirator makes an airtight seal around your face.)

How to do a negative-pressure seal check:

1. Cover the two filters or the air hose with your handsand suck in gently.

2. Hold for a count of ten.3. If the seal is good, you will

feel the area of the sealtightening to your face. If someone is watching you, he or she should seethe respirator suck in alittle at your nose. Youwill not hear a leak orfeel any air flow on your cheek.

4. If there is a leak, air will flow in through the leak instead of pulling the mask against your face. You will feel airmoving against your cheeks. It may feel like a feather



brushing across your face. The air will move toward yourmouth. You may hear the air flow.

How to do a positive pressure seal (fit) check:

1. Take the cover off the valve on your chin.

2. Cover the rubber flap with one hand and puff outgently. Don't blow toohard, or you can blow out your intake valvesbreak a good seal.

3. If you have a good seal, youshould feel the force of your breath balloon therespirator out a tiny bit.It is like the feeling youget when you first blowup a balloon. You have to blow harder to get over theresistance of the balloon. As the mask moves out, youwill feel the seal of the respirator tighten on your face.

4. If there is a leak, air will flow out of the leak instead of making the mask balloon out. You will feel air flow outagainst your cheeks. You will not feel the seal tighteningto your face.

Keep Your Respirator Clean.Though respirators are never comfortable, they can become very

uncomfortable if you do not clean and disinfect them regularly. It isvery easy to clean your respirator and you must clean it every timeyou use it.

Take off the filters and wash the respirator in warm water (1100

F) with cleaner recommended by the manufacturer or a mild soap.If the cleaner you are using does not disinfect, the respirator shouldbe immersed for two minutes in a one of the following: 1) hypochlorite solution (1 ml of laundry bleach to 1 liter of water);



2) iodine solution of .8 ml of tincture of iodine [6-8 grams ofammonium and/or potassium iodide] to one liter of water; or 3) acommercially available cleaner of equivalent disinfectant quality. Wash the inside and outside of the face piece with a soft bristlebrush or a clean rag.

Rinse the respirator in clean water and let it dry in the air. Ifyou have a PAPR, do not drop the battery or motor in the water.Wipe these off with a damp cloth.

Store Your Respirator in a Safe PlaceDon't hang your respirator by its straps to dry. This can stretch

out the straps. It is also easy to damage a respirator or get lead onit by hanging it by its straps. Keep your respirator in a clean, dryplace out of direct sun light and heat. Your employer must provideyou with a safe place to store your respirator.



Activity #6: Respiratory Types Exercise

Yes ½ No ½ Mask is Mast Not Allowed Allowed

1. Ripping out drywall covered _____________ _____________ With lead paint. Air samples show 155 ug/m3 of lead in the air. Why?

2. Cutting beams covered with _____________ _____________ lead paint. Air samples have not come back from the lab yet. Why?

3. Pulling up carpet. Air samples _____________ _____________ show 590 ug/m3 of lead in the air. Why?

4. Removing paint using a heat _____________ _____________ gun. Air samples have not come back from the lab yet. Why?

5. Removing paint on a HUD _____________ _____________ job using a caustic stripper. Air samples show 35 ug/m3

of lead in the air. Why?



Activity #7: Bridge Work Exercise

You have been assigned to work on a composite bridge painting crew.You will be erecting scaffolding and help move the enclosure (shroud) forthe other crew members as they sand blast the steel bridge super-structure prior to repainting. You will be working with crew members inthe enclosure where the lead levels have been measured at 7,000 ug/m3.

1. Using the PEL for lead, calculate the MUC and determine which respirator you would use.

2. What respirators would you use if the airborne lead level was 70,000 ug/m3?



Activity #8: Respiratory Protection Exercise

Check how well you understand the material in the chapter.

1. What is the difference between a negative-pressure respirator and a positive-pressure respirator?

2. Which one protects you more? Why?

3. If you are working on an abatement project and air samples show 70 ug/m3, which respirator do you have to wear?

4. What is the difference between a qualitative fit test and a quantitative fit test?

5. Some people have a harder time getting a good fit on a respirator. Who are they? Why do they have a hard time?

6. Name three limitations of respirators – that is, reasons why they protect you less than they are supposed to.

7. What are some of the times when you can't wear a negative- pressure respirator because it won't protect you enough?

Inside a HEPA filter



Key Facts for Chapter 6

You should wear a respirator whenever you work withlead. Whenever you work with lead, you can request a respirator and your employer must provide one for you.When lead in the air is above 50 ug/m3, you must wear arespirator. You must wear a respirator when doing Class 1,2, or 3 tasks. Not everyone can wear a respirator. You needa doctor's evaluation before wearing a respirator on the

job.

Respirators don't protect you unless they fit perfectly.

Do not use paper (nuisance) dustmasks for lead abatement work. They are not allowed. They will notprotect you.

Positive-pressure (motor pushes air into the mask andpushes particles away from the edges of the mask) is better

than negative-pressure (your lungs and heartwork to move

the air).

Full-face is more protective than half-mask.

A Powered Air-Purifying Respirator (PAPR) is easier andsafer to use than a regular air-purifying respirator. Youremployer must give you a PAPR instead of a negativepressure respirator if you ask for one and you are working above the PEL.

Supplied-air (pumps in clean air from outside the room) ismore protective than air-purifying (filters the air in theroom).



Pressure-demand mode (you get more air when you breatheharder) is more protective than continuous-flow mode (air isalways pumped at the same rate).

Your employer chooses your respirator by evaluating the airsamples and/or the Class tasks that you will do.

You must have a fit test before you can wear a respirator atwork.

You must have a fit test every year. There are two fit tests:1. Qualitative fit-testing. This test doesn't use

machines. It uses your sense of smell and taste. 2. Quantitative fit-testing. This test uses a

device that measures how much air leaks around the edges of your respirator.

Inspect your respirator before you put it on. Do your ownseal checks every time you wear your respirator. There

are two seal checks: 1. Negative pressure seal check. Cover the

filters and breathe in. 2. Positive pressure seal check. Cover the

exhalation valve on your chin and blow out.

Clean your respirator every time you wear it. Use disinfectant and 1100 F water. Store your respirator in a

clean, safe place away from sun light and heat.

Change the filters when it gets hard to breathe. Use theright filter for the hazard – HEPA filters for lead. If you use solvents or caustic paste, you will need other filters as well as HEPA filters. HEPA filters remover 99.97% of allparticles 0.3 microns and larger.



For More InformationThese publications have more information on the topics

covered in this chapter.

ANSI, Z88-2-1992. American National Standard for Respiratory Protection.

ANSI/AIHA, Z88.7-2001 Color Coding of Air-Purifying Respirator Canisters, Cartridges, and Filters. Stock No.435-EA-00. 8 pp.

NIOSH, Guide to Industrial Respiratory Protection. DHHS(NIOSH) Publication No. 87-116. September, 1987.

NIOSH, Guide to the Selection and Use of Particulate RespiratorsCertified Under 42 CFR 84. DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No.96-101, January 1996.

NIOSH, Respirator Decision Logic. DHHS (NIOSH) PublicationNo. 87-108. 61 pp. May, 1987.

OSHA, Small Entity Compliance Guide for Respiratory Protection,1999.

OSHA, Personal Protective Equipment. 1998. Publication No.3077.

OSHA, Respiratory Protection, 2002, Publication No. 3079.

OSHA, Respiratory Protection E-Tool. http://osha.gov/SLTC/etools/respiratory/index.html.

OSHA, Respirator Standard, 29 CFR 1910.134.

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