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Role of Workplace Testing of Respirators as a Condition of Certification for the Federally Mandated NIOSH Respiratory Protective Equipment Certification Program.

PB92133271

Publication Date	1991
Personal Author	Ettinger, H. J.
Page Count	16
Abstract	The evaluation considered the practicality and advisability of incorporating workplace field testing as part of the formal NIOSH Respirator Certification process. According to the author, there is a need to more clearly define the objectives of the NIOSH Respirator Certification process, specifically to define more clearly the term certify. The author concludes that the definition of a single or a few representative facilities is likely to be impractical, that the impact of doing a field test will have some not yet defined effect on the measured workplace protection factors (WPF), that the lack of controls in the field will make testing reproducibility and variability unsatisfactory for use as a direct formal certification test, and that the slow rate of progress being made in developing a standard field test protocol suggests that standardization represents a potential problem. The author recommends two parallel approaches to complement certification laboratory test procedures. The first calls for NIOSH, with input from industry and manufacturers to develop a standard test protocol so that WPF can be determined under a variety of work situations using comparable test methods. Secondly, manufacturers should be required to perform some field testing which satisfies the previously published and agreed to test protocol.
Keywords	Respirators Occupational safety and health Industrial safety Industrial hygiene Toxic substances Certification Standards compliance Protective equipment Field tests Indoor air pollution Performance standards Regulations Recommendations Respiratory Protective Equipment Certification Program Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
Source Agency	National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
NTIS Subject Category	57U - Public Health & Industrial Medicine 94H - Industrial Safety Engineering 94D - Job Environment 95D - Human Factors Engineering 68G - Environmental Health & Safety 68A - Air Pollution & Control
Corporate Authors	National Inst. for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, OH.
Supplemental Notes	See also PB83-132860 and PB92-133370.
Document Type	Technical Report
Title Note	Final rept.
NTIS Issue Number	199208

Role of Workplace Testing of Respirators as a Condition of Certification for the Federally Mandated NIOSH Respiratory Protective Equipment Certification Program.

Role of Workplace Testing of Respirators as a Condition of Certification for the Federally Mandated NIOSH Respiratory Protective Equipment Certification Program.
PB92133271

Publication Date	1991
Personal Author	Ettinger, H. J.
Page Count	16
Abstract	The evaluation considered the practicality and advisability of incorporating workplace field testing as part of the formal NIOSH Respirator Certification process. According to the author, there is a need to more clearly define the objectives of the NIOSH Respirator Certification process, specifically to define more clearly the term certify. The author concludes that the definition of a single or a few representative facilities is likely to be impractical, that the impact of doing a field test will have some not yet defined effect on the measured workplace protection factors (WPF), that the lack of controls in the field will make testing reproducibility and variability unsatisfactory for use as a direct formal certification test, and that the slow rate of progress being made in developing a standard field test protocol suggests that standardization represents a potential problem. The author recommends two parallel approaches to complement certification laboratory test procedures. The first calls for NIOSH, with input from industry and manufacturers to develop a standard test protocol so that WPF can be determined under a variety of work situations using comparable test methods. Secondly, manufacturers should be required to perform some field testing which satisfies the previously published and agreed to test protocol.
Keywords	Respirators Occupational safety and health Industrial safety Industrial hygiene Toxic substances Certification Standards compliance Protective equipment Field tests Indoor air pollution Performance standards Regulations Recommendations Respiratory Protective Equipment Certification Program Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
Source Agency	National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
NTIS Subject Category	57U - Public Health & Industrial Medicine 94H - Industrial Safety Engineering 94D - Job Environment 95D - Human Factors Engineering 68G - Environmental Health & Safety 68A - Air Pollution & Control
Corporate Authors	National Inst. for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, OH.
Supplemental Notes	See also PB83-132860 and PB92-133370.
Document Type	Technical Report
Title Note	Final rept.
NTIS Issue Number	199208