N-100 respirators & Lead RRP work. Part 3: Designation as "tight fitting"

So now the question is:

"If we are above the PEL, suspect we could be above the PEL, or we want to err on the side of safety and have our Lead RRP workers wear N-100s, do we really have to go through all that 29 CFR 1910.134 regulatory stuff?"

Yes.

"What?  No depends...no maybe...none of your usual ifs and buts were candy and nuts regulatory speech?"

None of that.  Sorry, there is no easy out on this.  If you must wear a N-100 or require workers to wear a N-100 then you must comply.

"Why?"

Because they are defined as both a respirator and tight fitting.  Here is what the CDC has to say about these types of disposable dust masks:

There are important differences between facemasks and respirators. Facemasks do not seal tightly to the face and are used to block large droplets from coming into contact with the wearer’s mouth or nose. Most respirators (e.g. N95) are designed to seal tightly to the wearer’s face and filter out very small particles that can be breathed in by the user.

So, if a tight fitting respirator - such as a N-100 - is "required" it now falls under OSHA's 29 CFR 1910.134 requirements.  Respirators then must be used in the context of a comprehensive respiratory protection program which includes:

• fit testing
• medical evaluation
• training of the worker.
• and N-100s cannot be used by workers with facial hair that interferes with the face seal.

"You mean to tell me I have to do fit testing on a paper dust mask?"

Yes.  Here is what 3M - a reputable manufacturer of these types of respirators - has to say about that:

Either the FT-10 Qualitative Fit Test Apparatus, which uses a saccharin aerosol, or the FT-30 Qualitative Fit Test Apparatus, which uses a bitter aerosol, is appropriate for fit testing these products. These 10–20 minute procedures demonstrate whether an employee can attain a good face fit with a given style respirator.

Additional fit tests must be conducted whenever a different respirator (size, style, model, or make) is used and if changes in facial structure of the wearer develop that could affect respirator fit.

"Wow, a fit test on a paper dust mask - did not see that one coming.  I suppose next you are going to tell me that the worker must also do a fit check when they put the thing on?"

Yes.  Here is what 3M has to say about that:

To perform a user seal [fit] check [d]on the respirator according to the user instructions. Next, place both hands completely over the respirator and exhale. If air leaks between the face and the face seal of the respirator reposition it and readjust the nose clip for a more secure seal. If air leaks around the respirator edges, adjust the position on the face and the straps along the sides of the head and recheck fit. If a proper fit cannot be achieved, do not enter the area requiring respiratory protection.

"Well that's just great Mr. Rain on my parade.  You regulatory safety geeks just make my job harder with all your requirements."

Well then, don't wear a respirator.

"Ahh...I thought you were this "beyond compliance" believer.  Now you want me to not wear PPE?"

I only want you to wear PPE that makes sense.  PPE has as many downsides as it can have benefits.  That's why they wrote the RRP rule the way they did - so that the RRP contractor will do everything to avoid creating dust that would require the use of a respirator.  If the lead dust is below the PEL there is no harm.  No harm, no silly OSHA required administrative requirements such as a fit check and medical approval to wear a paper mask.  Wearing PPE does not provide ultimate employee protection.  Even OSHA acknowledges that in the first paragraph of the respiratory standard:

"the primary objective shall be to prevent atmospheric contamination"

See, OSHA, the EPA, HUD, CDC have designed regulations and policy that give you a legitimate out.  Control the stuff in the air and you will not need to wear a respirator.

If that's not win-win-win I don't know what more can be said.

N-100 respirators & Lead RRP work. Part 2: The Voluntary Use of Respirators

In my last post the question of "do we have to wear a respirator when doing Lead RRP work?" was posed.

And the answer was - as usual - it depends.  The short answer is no - provided you do everything you can to keep the lead dust levels to below the PEL.  But what happens when employees want to use a respirator or the employee takes a 'to be on the safe side lets provide them' approach?  Well lets open that can-o-worms shall we?

Here is what OSHA has to say about the voluntary use of respirators:

Employers who allow their employees to wear respirators on a voluntary basis when not required by OSHA or the employer must implement limited provisions of a respiratory protection program. When a filtering face piece respirator is all that is used, the employee must be provided a copy of [29 CFR 1910.134] Appendix D.

Well maybe not a big ol' can-o-worms, but still, there is some effort the employer must expend if respirators are to be worn by their employees.  In a Lead RRP work environment, the term "filtering face piece respirator" may be of some help.  The question now to ask will be: "Is an N-100 disposable respirator a filtering face piece respirator?"  Here is what the CDC has to say about that:

Respirators: Unless otherwise specified, "respirator" refers to an N95 or higher filtering face piece respirator certified by the CDC/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

So based on that definition the criteria under OSHA to head over to Appendix D of 29 CFR 1010.134 is a good thing because for all other respirators used on a voluntary basis OSHA further states:

For all other voluntary users, an additional written respirator program that covers medical fitness and proper maintenance procedures must be implemented.

Which in case you are wondering what those worms look like it means this:

[t]he employer must establish and implement those elements of a written respiratory protection program necessary to ensure that any employee using a respirator voluntarily is medically able to use that respirator, and that the respirator is cleaned, stored, and maintained so that its use does not present a health hazard to the user.

Using a N-100 respirator on a voluntary basis gets you out of all this provided the employer does the following:

[d]etermines that such respirator use will not in itself create a hazard.

What this means is will the respirator itself cause a problem.  This could include restricted breathing, fatigue, restricting vision, rash, head aches from the straps, and on and on.  So if you say nope - none of that will take place all you need to do is head on over to Appendix D of 29 CFR 1910.134 and address these little tiny worms by giving the employee the following information:

1. Read and heed all instructions provided by the manufacturer on use, maintenance, cleaning and care, and warnings regarding the respirators limitations.
2. Choose respirators certified for use to protect against the contaminant of concern. NIOSH, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, certifies respirators. A label or statement of certification should appear on the respirator or respirator packaging.
3. Do not wear your respirator into atmospheres containing contaminants for which the respirator is not designed to protect against.
4. Keep track of your respirator so that you do not mistakenly use someone else's respirator.

OK, not so bad, just make sure of two things...it is a N-95, N-98, or N-100 type respirator.  N-100s are recommended for lead because the "100" is comparable to a HEPA filter's 99.97% efficiency for 0.3 micrometer airborne particles.

And the other?  See the last post.  To be voluntary you cannot put a worker in a hazardous atmosphere.

"So what happens if the lead dust is above the PEL?  Does a N-100 disposable mask meet the OSHA definition of a respirator requiring the same procedures as a "real" respirator?"

Yes.

"But it's a paper dust mask!"

Correct, but you still have treat it like a respirator because it is defined as a respirator

Next Post:  N-100 respirators & Lead RRP work. Part 3: designation as "tight fitting"


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N-100 respirators & Lead RRP work. Part 1: Do I have to wear one?

A question came up during a recent class we did on "Lead Safety for Renovation, Repair, and Painting."  In the Joint EPA-HUD Curriculum there is in Appendix 5 a document called "Steps to Lead Safe Renovation, Repair and Painting which states:

Wear respiratory protection.  When work creates dust or paint chips, workers should wear respiratory protection, such as an N-100 dispose able respirator, to prevent them from breathing leaded dust.

Notice that the word is "should" and not "must" or "shall."  Should - as it is used here - means if the work creates dust or paint chips that exposes the worker to more than a permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 50 μg/m3 in an 8-hour work shift.  So the question for an RRP contractor to ask will be:

"Will the work performed on this project expose my workers to more than 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air?"

And the answer is...  That depends.  Depends on what?  Depends on how active your workers are going to be in an 8-hour work period.  The purpose of the RRP rule was to allow for the indiscriminate removal or minimally invasive working in a lead-based paint environment.  It is not designed for lead removal through abatement. 

"In general, renovations that involve only a small amount of paint disturbance create less dust than jobs that involve larger areas of paint disturbance."

For this reason, the EPA implies - but does not state emphatically - that using their "Safe Work Practices" and avoiding "Prohibited Practices" should create an environment that does not put dust in the air above the PEL and - most importantly - leave that dust in the building where children can come in contact with it.  Michael Scott and we in the Public Health field call this "win-win-win."

"Dust reduction in the work area will make the workplace safer for employees, and will make cleaning easier."

"So do my guys need to wear a respirator?  Just cut to the chase Mr. Wordy!"

Well...that depends.  Are you willing to walk onto the slippery slope of assumption?  Here is what OSHA has to say about respirators:

In the control of those occupational diseases caused by breathing air contaminated with harmful dusts, fogs, fumes, mists, gases, smokes, sprays, or vapors, the primary objective shall be to prevent atmospheric contamination. This shall be accomplished as far as feasible by accepted engineering control measures (for example, enclosure or confinement of the operation, general and local ventilation, and substitution of less toxic materials). When effective engineering controls are not feasible, or while they are being instituted, appropriate respirators shall be used pursuant to this section. 1910.134(a)(1)

What OSHA is saying here is this.  If you use proper controls (i.e. "Safe Work Practices" and avoiding "Prohibited Practices") lead dust contamination should not be at the level of "harmful."  So both the EPA and OSHA are saying the same thing, use a respirator only when workers are to be exposed above the PEL.  The slippery slope of assumption is that you will not know if the PEL is exceeded unless you perform air monitoring, which is time consuming and expensive.

"So do they have to wear respirators?"

Well...that depends.  Are you willing to go out on a pretty well supported and hardy limb and say:

• We follow EPA's RRP safe work practices
• We do not use any prohibited practices
• We believe, that based on those two bullets, and the fact that we will spend limited time on this project and/or disturb minimal dust during our activities, that the air - should it be monitored - would be below the OSHA PEL.
• And we believe that under OSHA's general duty clause we are not exposing our employees to air contaminated with harmful lead dust.

Bottom line - if you are not sure or comfortable making this type of assumption about the air not being harmful, get yourself some competent help.  Sometimes the cost of a CIH can be well worth the peace of mind they can bring by adding one more bullet:

• Our CIH says we don't have to wear a respirator for this particular job.

"OK, but can they wear a respirator just to be on the safe side?"

Well...that depends....

Next Post: Part 2:  The Voluntary Use of Respirators.


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