Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Disclaimer: Mention of any company name or product does not constitute endorsement by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The respirators certified under this new regulation are tested under much more demanding conditions, and they provide increased worker protection. These new respirators also provide significant cost savings: Estimates indicate that the health care industry alone will save millions of dollars as a result of this new generation of practical and efficient respirators.
This guide was designed to explain the new regulation and to provide valuable information for selecting and using the new respirators certified by NIOSH. We greatly appreciate the assistance of respirator manufacturers and others in making this information available to all employers and respirator program managers. We believe this information will help protect the health and lives of U. Linda Rosenstock, M. This document was initially drafted by Jeff Bryant and Walter Ruch. We thank Judy Hudnall and Dick Carlson for art work and cover design, Anne Hamilton for editing, and Diane Manning for preparation of the manuscript and the camera-ready copy.
Thanks to all the workshop participants and many reviewers who helped in completing this document. This summary presents a brief overview of what the respirator user needs to know about the new categories of particulate respirators certified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health NIOSH.
The new Part 84 respirators have passed a more demanding certification test than the old respirators e. Changes in the new regulations involve only nonpowered, air-purifying, particulate-filter respirators. Certification requirements for all other classes of respirators e. The three categories of resistance to filter efficiency degradation are labeled N, R, and P.
The class of filter will be clearly marked on the filter, filter package, or respirator box. Chemical cartridges that include particulate filter elements will carry a similar marking that pertains only to the particulate filter element. The new classes of nonpowered particulate respirators require new decision logic for selection of the proper respirator.
