Environmental Health & Safety
Respiratory Protection Program
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Supplied-Air Respirators
These respirators provide breathing air independent of the environment. Such respirators are to be used when the contaminant has poor warning properties (insufficient odor, taste or irritating warning properties), or when the contaminant is of such high concentration or toxicity that an air-purifying respirator is inadequate. Supplied-air respirators are classified as follows:
- Demand respirators, which supply air to the user on demand (inhalation), which creates a negative pressure within the facepiece. Leakage into the facepiece may occur if there is a poor seal between the respirator and the user's face
- Pressure-Demand respirators maintain a continuous positive pressure within the facepiece, thus minimizing leakage into the facepiece
- Continuous Flow respirators maintain a continuous flow of air through the facepiece and minimizes leakage into the facepiece
- Airline respirators, which provide the user with clean air by means of a hose fed by a compressor located outside the contaminated area. Airline respirators may be equipped with tight fitting face pieces or with loose fitting headpieces or hoods
Air-Purifying Respirator
These respirators remove air contaminants by filtering, absorbing, adsorbing, or chemically reacting with the contaminants as they pass through the respirator filter cartridge. This type of respirator is to be used only where adequate oxygen is available and the atmosphere is not oxygen enriched (within the range of 19.5 to 23.5 percent by volume). Air-purifying respirators can be classified as follows:
- Particulate removing respirators, which filter out dusts, fibers, fumes, mists and microorganisms. These respirators may be single-use disposable respirators (e.g. filtering facepieces) or respirators with replaceable filters.
NOTE: Surgical masks are not classified as respirators and do not provide protection against air contaminants. They are never to be used in place of an air-purifying respirator.
NOTE: Single-strap dust masks are classified as respirators, but are not NIOSH approved, and may not be used for respiratory protection; they are only to be used for non-toxic nuisance dusts. - Gas and vapor-removing respirators, which remove specific individual contaminants or a combination of contaminants by absorption, adsorption or by chemical reaction. Gas masks and chemical-cartridge respirators are examples of gas- and vapor-removing respirators.
- Combination particulate/gas- and vapor-removing respirators, which combine the respirator characteristics of both kinds of air-purifying respirators.
- Powered air-purifying respirators (PAPR), which operate on the same principle as air-purifying respirators, but rely on a blower unit to move air through filters and deliver it to the user. They can remove particulate and/or gas/vapor contaminants depending on the type of filter they are provided with.
- This type of respirator must not be used with chemicals with poor warning properties such as some examples of chemicals listed below:
| Arsine | Bromine | Carbon Monoxide |
| Chloroform | Diisocyanates | Dimethylaniline |
| Dimethylsulfate | Hydrogen Cyanide | Hydrogen Fluoride |
| Hydrogen Selenide | Methanol | Methyl Bromide |
| Methyl Chloride | Methylene Chloride | Nickel Carbonyl |
| Nitric Acid | Nitrobenzend | Nitrogen Oxides |
| Nitroglycerin | Nitromethane | Ozone |
| Phosgene | Phospine | Phosphorous Trichloride |
| Stibine | Vinyl Chloride |
Identification of Respirator Cartridges
Respirator cartridges are designed to protect against individual or combinations of potentially hazardous atmospheric contaminants, and are specifically labeled and color-coded to indicate the type of protection they provide.
The NIOSH approval label on the respirator will also specify the maximum concentration of contaminant(s) for which the cartridge is approved. For example, a label may read:
"DO NOT WEAR IN ATMOSPHERES IMMEDIATELY DANGEROUS TO LIFE. MUST BE USED IN AREAS CONTAINING AT LEAST 20 PERCENT OXYGEN. DO NOT WEAR IN ATMOSPHERES CONTAINING MORE THAN ONE-TENTH PERCENT ORGANIC VAPORS BY VOLUME. REFER TO COMPLETE LABEL ON RESPIRATOR OR CARTRIDGE CONTAINER FOR ASSEMBLY, MAINTENANCE, AND USE."
Service Life of Air-Purifying Respirator Filters and Cartridges
The filters or cartridges of air-purifying respirators are intended to be used until:
- Filter resistance precludes further use (i.e. breathing becomes difficult)
- The chemical sorbent is expended as signified by a specific warning property, e.g., odor, taste, end of service life indicator (ELSI), or
- The end of the manufacturer-recommended service life has been reached
If there is no ESLI-equipped cartridge appropriate for the conditions in the workplace, the manager of the affected employees must work with EH&S to implement an effective change schedule that will ensure cartidges are changed before the end of their service life, as required by CFR 1910.134(d)(3)(i)(B).
New cartridges or filters shall always be provided when a respirator is reissued. When in doubt about the previous use of the respirator, obtain a replacement canister or cartridge.
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Contact EH&S at (585) 275-3241 or e-mail EH&S Questions.
This page last updated 2/3/2022. Disclaimer.
