Page 57 - OHS, May 2022

against dusts, fumes and mists that are signifificantly more toxic than lead, permit certifification of combinations of respirators and a revision of the current tests to determine accuracy and speed of testing.8
By the time the OSH Act of 1970 was passed, it was well known that many workplace materials could cause respiratory illnesses that could be prevented by the use of a respirator. It was at this time that OSHA reprinted the original approval standards, without change of text, in the first standards of protection from the agency.
OSHA published its respiratory protection standard, 29 CFR 1910.134 on January 9, 1998. This standard would entirely replace the agency’s original standard promulgated in 1972 and standardize regulations for respirator use in all industries.
Into the New Millenium
The terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 shined a particularly bright light on respiratory protection issues, especially when it came to first responders. As a result of the attack, personal protective equipment used by first responders became a top priority and a collaborative study between NIOSH and the New York City Fire Department’s Bureau of Health Services was launched.
The results of the study showed that many first responders did not have access to adequate respiratory protection during the first week of the rescue/recovery mission following 9/11. In addition, the study found that an alarming amount of first responders were not wearing any protection at all at Ground Zero. Further research would show that the rate of respiratory illness was high, with many responders later developing forms of respiratory illnesses or diseases, such as lung cancer.
Following the events and research of 9/11, NIOSH would go on to publish its “Interim Guidance on the Use of Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Full Facepiece, Air-Purifying Respirators/Gas Masks Certified under 42 CFR Part 84” in 2005. NIOSH would also develop three CBRN standards for SCBAs, full-facepiece and air-purifying respirators in emergency incidents of terrorism.9
In 2015, ANSI updated its standard Z88.2 for respiratory protection. The Z88
Committee established the standard in 1969, but later revised it in 1989 and 1992. According to the standard, the Z88.2 standard “sets forth minimally accepted practices for occupational respirator use; provides information and guidance on the proper selection, use and maintenance of respirators, and contains requirements for establishing, implementing and evaluating respirator programs. The standard covers the use of respirators to protect persons against the inhalation of harmful air contaminants and against oxygen- deficient atmospheres in the workplace.”10
Looking to the Future
Nearly every citizen of this globe now understands the critical need for respirators following the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. As the Covid-19 cases rose, so did the global understanding of how respirators could help to curb the transmission of the virus.
It is safe to say that without the past researchers and scientists who were so thorough with their study of respiratory illnesses and diseases, we may not have been able to implement universal masking procedures that curbed the spread.
Sydny Shepard is Editor of Occupational Health & Safety magazine.
REFERENCE
1. https://wellcomecollection.org/articles/ XwMmcBQAAGwR9GY8
2,8. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ npptl/Respiratory-Protection-history. html#:~:text=The%20OSHA%20respiratory%20 protection%20standard,%2C%20 construction%2C%20and%20general%20 industry
3. https://www.britannica.com/science/ Brownian-motion
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC7278273/
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC2376985/
6. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic- resources/1918-pandemic-h1n1.html
7. https://www.nps.gov/neri/planyourvisit/ the-hawks-nest-tunnel-disaster-summersville- wv.htm
9. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/ RespStds.html
10. https://orau.org/ihos/downloads/ tech-topics/workersafety/2018/ANSI1992_ ANSI2015.pdf
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