The health care industry has a new resource to turn to for information about respiratory protection options for employees, one which crunches the numbers and identifies two types of usage.

A recently released report from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine explores the potential for use of half-facepiece elastomeric respirators in the U.S. health care system with a focus on the economic, policy, and implementation challenges and opportunities. The report examines two circumstances, routine and surge use, in which half-facepiece reusable elastomeric respirators could be considered in health care settings.

A free prepublication copy of the report is available online. The study was done at the request of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, both at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.