Biomaterial Database

An evaluation of respirator maintenance requirements. 1997

L M Brosseau, and K Traubel

University of Minnesota, Division of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, Minneapolis 55455, USA.

A telephone survey was developed as part of a pilot study to evaluate the inspection, cleaning, maintenance, and storage aspects of respirator protection programs (RPP). Regulations and consensus standards such as those published by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) or the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) require or recommend that RPP contain elements that ensure that the respirators provide proper protection. A great deal of research has been done to evaluate the effectiveness of new respirators; however, little research has been conducted to evaluate how respirators behave over time in real industrial settings Respirator inspection, cleaning, maintenance, and storage are significant factors in determining how well a respirator continues to perform. The telephone survey was developed by reviewing the requirements and recommendations of CFR 1910.134 and ANSI Z88.2-1980. Approximately 30 companies were selected based on their use of negative air-purifying respirators. Most of the companies represented the hardgoods manufacturing or service industries. Although the majority of companies were meeting requirements, responses indicated that the following improvements in RPP were necessary: (1) inspection of all respirator parts should be carried out before and after each use, (2) replacement parts should be made readily available on site, (3) regular cleaning should be performed, and (4) more hands-on practice with respirators and their maintenance should be incorporated into training sessions.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008283	Maintenance	The upkeep of property or equipment.	Maintenances
D009314	National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S.	An institute of the CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION which is responsible for assuring safe and healthful working conditions and for developing standards of safety and health. Research activities are carried out pertinent to these goals.	NIOSH,National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (U.S.),United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health,National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
D010865	Pilot Projects	Small-scale tests of methods and procedures to be used on a larger scale if the pilot study demonstrates that these methods and procedures can work.	Pilot Studies,Pilot Study,Pilot Project,Project, Pilot,Projects, Pilot,Studies, Pilot,Study, Pilot
D011795	Surveys and Questionnaires	Collections of data obtained from voluntary subjects. The information usually takes the form of answers to questions, or suggestions.	Community Survey,Nonrespondent,Questionnaire,Questionnaires,Respondent,Survey,Survey Method,Survey Methods,Surveys,Baseline Survey,Community Surveys,Methodology, Survey,Nonrespondents,Questionnaire Design,Randomized Response Technique,Repeated Rounds of Survey,Respondents,Survey Methodology,Baseline Surveys,Design, Questionnaire,Designs, Questionnaire,Methods, Survey,Questionnaire Designs,Questionnaires and Surveys,Randomized Response Techniques,Response Technique, Randomized,Response Techniques, Randomized,Survey, Baseline,Survey, Community,Surveys, Baseline,Surveys, Community,Techniques, Randomized Response
D012134	Respiratory Protective Devices	Respirators to protect individuals from breathing air contaminated with harmful dusts, fogs, fumes, mists, gases, smokes, sprays, or vapors.	Gas Masks,Respirators, Air-Purifying,Respirators, Industrial,Industrial Respirators,Air-Purifying Respirator,Air-Purifying Respirators,Device, Respiratory Protective,Devices, Respiratory Protective,Gas Mask,Industrial Respirator,Mask, Gas,Masks, Gas,Protective Device, Respiratory,Protective Devices, Respiratory,Respirator, Air-Purifying,Respirator, Industrial,Respirators, Air Purifying,Respiratory Protective Device
D004868	Equipment Failure	Failure of equipment to perform to standard. The failure may be due to defects or improper use.	Defects, Equipment,Device Failure,Failure, Equipment,Malfunction, Equipment,Medical Device Failure,Misuse, Equipment,Device Failure, Medical,Device Failures, Medical,Failure, Medical Device,Failures, Medical Device,Defect, Equipment,Device Failures,Equipment Defect,Equipment Defects,Equipment Failures,Equipment Malfunction,Equipment Malfunctions,Equipment Misuse,Equipment Misuses,Failure, Device,Failures, Device,Failures, Equipment,Malfunctions, Equipment,Misuses, Equipment
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D014481	United States	A country in NORTH AMERICA between CANADA and MEXICO.
D014489	United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration	An office in the Department of Labor responsible for developing and establishing occupational safety and health standards.	OSHA,Occupational Safety and Health Administration (U.S.),Occupational Safety and Health Administration,Occupational Safety, Health Administration, United States,United States Occupational Health Administration,United States Occupational Safety Administration,United States Occupational Safety, Health Administration
D017408	Guidelines as Topic	Works about a systematic statement of policy rules or principles. Guidelines may be developed by government agencies at any level, institutions, professional societies, governing boards, or by convening expert panels. For guidelines in the field of health care and clinical medicine, PRACTICE GUIDELINES AS TOPIC is available.	Guidelines as Topics