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Revised OSHA Respiratory Standard:
On April 8, 1998 the revisions to the 25 year old OSHA standard on respiratory protection became effective. For agencies subject to OSHA regulations, the
compliance deadline is October 5, 1998. For California agencies, the compliance deadline will be determined once Cal/OSHA revises their own standard to meet, or exceed, the new Federal OSHA
requirements. If adopted verbatum, several of the key changes which will affect the water/wastewater industry include:
- Implementing procedures for voluntary respirator use
- Providing medical evaluations by means of a medical questionnaire instead of medical exams (unless the emloyee answers yes to certain questions.)
- Designating a qualified program administrator
- Evaluating the workplace for respiratory hazards including a reasonable estimate of employee exposures
- Providing fit testing for negative and postive pressure respirators initially and annually
- Performing fit testing of SAR's and SCBA's in the negative pressure mode, regardless of the mode of operation this is used for protection
- Banning facial hair that comes between the sealing surface of the facepiece and the face
- Performing both positive and negative user seal checks each time any type of tight-fitting respirator is donned, including SCBA's
- Requiring at least once standby person to be outside any IDLH atmosphere who is trained and equipped with supplied-air respirators and retrieval
equipment
- Cleaning & disinfection respirators after each use (not just disinfection)
- Performing monthly inspections to include function checks and certification documentation
- Ensuring SCBA air cylinders are recharged when the pressure falls to 90% of the manufacturer's recommended pressure level
- Providing initial and annual training.
For more information on the revised FedOSHA Respiratory Protection standard, call the CSRMA Risk Control Hotline.
This will also be the featured safety article in the Fall edition of the WEF "Operators Forum."
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- What’s New
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