The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has revised its standards for respiratory protection programs to incorporate “assigned protection factors” that indicate the level of workplace respiratory protection a respirator or class of respirators is expected to provide.

This APF final rule, issued Aug. 23, completes the revision of the reserve sections of OSHA’s Respiratory Protection Standard as published in 1998. The standard now contain provisions necessary for a comprehensive respiratory protection program, including selection and use of respirators, training, medical evaluation, and fit testing.

“This standard helps employers and employees select the right respirator for the job,” said Asst. Secretary of Labor for OSHA Edwin G. Foulke Jr. “And with the right respirator employees will have adequate protection to be safe and healthy at work.”

An APF table (see below) guides employers in the selection of air-purifying, powered air-purifying, supplied-air and self-contained breathing apparatus respirators.

Employers must follow these new requirements and use APFs to select the appropriate type of respirator based upon the exposure limit of a contaminant and the level of the contaminant in the workplace. Employers select respirators by comparing the exposure level found in the workplace and the maximum concentration of the contaminant in which a particular type of respirator can be used. Employers generally determine the maximum use concentration by multiplying the respirator’s APF by the contaminant’s exposure limit. If the workplace level of the contaminant is expected to exceed the respirator’s maximum use concentration, the employer must choose a respirator with a higher APF.