OSHA issues new small businesses document to explain respiratory protection standard
OSHA has released a revised Small Entity Compliance Guide for the Respiratory Protection Standard intended to help small businesses protect workers from respiratory hazards. The updated guide, directed at businesses with fewer than 250 workers, explains how to comply with OSHA's Respiratory Protection Standard. It provides instruction on how to select and fit test appropriate respirators to protect workers in many different industries. It includes new illustrations to help employers and workers identify different respirators, and describes how and where they should be used.
The revised guide also explains how Assigned Protection Factors (APFs) and Maximum Use Concentrations (MUCs), detailed in OSHA's revised standard, can help workers and employers assess the level of protection necessary in a given workplace. The respiratory standard compliance guide can be ordered by calling 1-800-321-OSHA or 202-693-1999.