According to OSHA, American workers in an estimated 1.3 million workplaces are required to wear respirators to guard against environments with insufficient oxygen and harmful air contaminants. In those workplaces, approximately 5 million workers must wear respiratory protection to safely perform their jobs, requiring employers to be vigilant about both the respiratory risks and regulations with which they must comply to keep employees safe.
Respiratory risks are most prevalent in the construction, shipyard employment, marine terminals and longshoring industries due to workers’ increased chance of being exposed to material or chemical hazards in those industries. Characteristics of hazardous operations include hot, liquid, solid, pressurized spraying and shaping operations as they include dangerous tasks, such as welding, painting, pouring, sandblasting, sawing, grinding and drilling.