Ongoing vetting, approving, certifying and conducting investigations to ensure the safety of lifesaving respiratory protection equipment used throughout industries like confined spaces, firefighting, mines, ships, and emergency response among many applications has abruptly stopped with the termination of 90 percent of NIOSH’s workforce, Rich Metzler, former director of the institute’s National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory in Pittsburgh, recently told CNN.

“Nothing is happening with any investigations related to those products to make sure that they continue to be safe for their intended use, that they continue to perform,” said Metzler, who left NIOSH in 2005 but still consults for the lab.

The lab’s work safeguards more than 50 million U.S. workers who rely on various respiratory equipment to keep them safe from hazardous exposures, according to the International Safety Equipment Association. From 2021 through 2023, the lab achieved 1,776 respirator approval decisions. The Respirator Approval Program link on the site has been shut down.

NIOSH-approved respirators are required by OSHA’s respiratory protection standard, which states, “(employers) must select a respirator certified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) which must be used in compliance with the conditions of its certification.” NIOSH-certified respirators are also mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency to protect against pesticide exposure. The Mine Safety and Health Administration requires them for use in underground mines to protect against coal dust. The Department of Energy requires them for protection against toxic chemicals. OSHA recommends construction workers wear NIOSH-certified N95 respirators in its construction silica dust standard.

Consumers have come to know and rely on NIOSH, too. Its logo became familiar during the Covid-19 pandemic, when N95 face masks were widely recommended as the best mask protection available.

Counterfeits are an issue, Metzler told CNN. Just before workers at the Pittsburgh lab were told to stop work last week, he said they’d been testing cartridges sold online that attach to the front of respirators to protect against gases or particulates.

“They found out that none of them met the standard,” Metzler said, while “all of the cartridges that they purchased that were on approved respirators passed.”

Since 1994, NIOSH has maintained a searchable, online version of the Certified Equipment List of respirators, which is now shut down and unavailable.

What happens now to ensure the integrity of millions of respirators?

The International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) posted its “deep concern over… sweeping layoffs that would effectively eliminate nearly the entire workforce of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), including the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL).

“These unprecedented cuts would dismantle the only federal laboratory responsible for certifying respirators used by more than 50 million American workers. Without NIOSH, there is no federal mechanism for respiratory protection certification…”

ISEA has signed a joint letter to Congressional leadership calling for an immediate reversal of the proposed NIOSH cuts; launched a social media campaign focused on Capitol Hill to reinforce NIOSH’s critical role; and is actively pursuing meetings with Congressional leaders and senior officials to push for reinstating NIOSH and the continuation of its mission.

Are there other options? 

On social media this week one person asked:

“How do you see the recent reduction in NIOSH resources impacting Respiratory Protection Approvals (RAP)? Threat or opportunity?
 As many of you know, NIOSH plays a critical role in ensuring the safety and effectiveness of respiratory protective equipment through its RAP process.

With recent news about budget and resource reductions at NIOSH, I’m curious to hear from professionals in safety, industrial hygiene, manufacturing, and related fields:

• Do you see this development as a threat to the quality, speed, or reliability of respiratory protection approvals?
   Or do you see it as an opportunity for innovation, new collaborations, or streamlined processes in the respiratory protection space?
   I’d love to hear your insights on:
• The potential impact on worker safety
• Effects on manufacturers and suppliers
• Any adaptive strategies you think companies should consider
   

Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kenney Jr. has said essential services of agencies such as NIOSH that are being consolidated into the new Administration for a Healthy America will be continued. Exactly which services — such as testing and certifying respirators — and how — given the layoffs in NIOSH’s testing lab — has not been detailed.