The Personal Protective Technology Program at NIOSH Reviews of Research Programs of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (2008) / Chapter Skim
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2 Relevance of the NIOSH PPT Program
2 Relevance of the NIOSH PPT Program
Pages 34-80
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From page 34... ...
As discussed in Chapter 1, the committee was asked to assess the work of the NIOSH PPT Program relevant to 12 objectives. Other National Academies' reports (IOM and NRC, 2006; NRC and IOM, 2007, 2008a,b)
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From page 35... ...
Extramural research funding is provided through the NIOSH Office of Extramural Programs (see below)
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From page 36... ...
36 TABLE 2-1 PPT Overall Budget Summary FY 2001 FY 2002 FY 2003 FY 2004 FY 2005 FY 2006 FY 2007 FY 2008 Total Direct budget allocation $8,616,297 $9,116,297 $8,593,373 $11,248,770 $12,200,070 $12,259,922 $11,787,202 $11,779,970 $85,601,901 External funding $1,847,519 $5,576,000 $8,850,760 $3,616,139 $3,933,314 $2,826,992 $1,317,002 $148,094 $28,115,820 Total $10,463,816 $14,692,297 $17,444,133 $14,864,909 $16,133,384 $15,086,914 $13,104,204 $11,928,064 $113,717,721
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From page 37... ...
. In the first three years of the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL)
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From page 38... ...
38 TABLE 2-2 Breakdown of the PPT Program Budget by Objective PPT Program Objective FY 2001 FY 2002 FY 2003 FY 2004 FY 2005 FY 2006 FY 2007 FY 2008 Total Percentage Dermal Objectives Protective clothing tests $778,074 $747,360 $493,294 $688,051 $746,998 $638,186 $198,683 $153,852 $4,444,498 3.9 Emergency responders $0 $0 $0 $0 $290,950 $182,584 $203,225 $96,828 $773,587 0.7 Physiological impact $0 $496,403 $1,273,489 $600,373 $683,919 $992,351 $740,412 $947,738 $5,734,685 5.0 Injury Objective PASS warning devices $720,987 $318,529 $503,517 $324,497 $546,519 $113,243 $176,453 $69,681 $2,773,426 2.4 Inhalation Objectives Certification $3,095,419 $3,797,557 $2,316,706 $5,186,286 $4,340,557 $4,570,614 $6,392,211 $5,845,022 $35,544,372 31.3 CBRN $2,873,300 $6,084,128 $10,401,677 $5,282,899 $6,411,547 $4,411,428 $1,258,337 $1,612,456 $38,335,772 33.7 Mining $1,464,746 $1,007,911 $697,199 $949,245 $447,403 $235,194 $1,681,040 $602,256 $7,084,994 6.2 Anthropometrics and TIL $1,012,158 $676,597 $513,880 $381,632 $1,277,875 $600,014 $291,964 $781,938 $5,536,058 4.9 Viral transmission $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $1,463,738 $777,552 $481,139 $2,722,429 2.4 Nanotechnology $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $310,175 $325,351 $319,111 $954,637 0.8 ESLI $0 $1,323,477 $931,980 $1,131,645 $1,120,658 $1,294,696 $688,003 $620,891 $7,111,350 6.3 Surveillance $519,131 $240,335 $312,390 $320,283 $266,959 $274,690 $370,974 $397,154 $2,701,916 2.4 Total $10,463,815 $14,692,297 $17,444,132 $14,864,911 $16,133,385 $15,086,913 $13,104,205 $11,928,066 $113,717,724 100.0 NOTE: ESLI = end-of-service-life indicator; PASS = personal alert safety system; TIL = total inward leakage. This table breaks down the PPT Program's annual budget by program objective.
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From page 39... ...
TABLE 2-3 Staff Allocations (FTE) by PPT Program Objectives Objectives FY 2001 FY 2002 FY 2003 FY 2004 FY 2005 FY 2006 FY 2007 FY 2008 Total Dermal Objectives Protective clothing tests 3.20 4.19 3.24 3.21 2.52 1.52 1.10 0.85 19.83 Emergency responders 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.30 0.56 1.85 0.45 3.16 Physiological impact 0.00 0.36 1.14 1.75 3.45 2.51 1.04 3.26 13.51 Total 3.20 4.55 4.38 4.96 6.27 4.59 3.99 4.56 36.50 Injury Objective PASS warning devices 0.09 0.67 0.75 1.22 1.32 0.75 0.86 0.61 6.27 Inhalation Objectives Certification 14.48 24.35 21.56 26.46 31.49 29.33 33.13 38.03 218.83 CBRN 13.32 15.03 16.59 13.70 18.81 13.90 7.84 11.54 110.73 Mining 4.54 6.52 4.35 4.64 1.88 1.50 4.23 3.61 31.27 Anthropometrics and TIL 1.46 3.90 3.80 2.26 3.57 3.99 1.75 3.41 24.14 Viral transmission 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.20 4.32 3.42 8.94 Nanotechnology 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.23 1.19 1.02 3.44 ESLI 0.00 1.18 1.46 1.75 2.45 1.78 2.04 2.00 12.66 Surveillance 0.97 1.27 2.06 2.19 1.63 1.72 2.07 2.13 14.04 Total 34.77 52.25 49.82 51.00 59.83 54.65 56.57 65.16 424.05 PPT Program Total 38.06 57.47 54.95 57.18 67.42 59.99 61.42 70.33 466.82 NOTE: ESLI = end-of-service-life indicator; PASS = personal alert safety system; TIL = total inward leakage.
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From page 40... ...
These facilities include climatic chambers, flammability and vibration testing machines, an anthropometrics research laboratory, and a recently added human research physiology laboratory. A recent renovation expanded the fit test laboratory to allow for total inward leakage (TIL)
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From page 41... ...
Specifically, the PPT Program, through NPPTL, establishes certification testing criteria, conducts product testing, reviews the technical specifications for the product, and examines the manufacturer's quality assurance program. The PPT Program also performs product and site audits and evaluates product TABLE 2-4 Ongoing NIOSH Extramural Grants with a PPT Component Start and End Dates Grant Title 9/2006 to 9/2011 Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center 9/2006 to 8/2011 Northeast Center for Agricultural Health 8/2006 to 7/2011 Active hearing protectors and audibility of critical communications 7/2005 to 7/2010 Respirator effects in impaired workers 8/2006 to 7/2009 Enclosing hood effectiveness 9/2004 to 6/2009 Centers for Construction Safety and Health 8/2006 to 7/2008 Measuring human fatigue with the BLT prototype 7/2005 to 6/2008 Assessment methods for nanoparticles in the workplace 4/2005 to 3/2008 Multipurpose protective clothing for emergency responders SOURCE: NIOSH, 2007a.
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From page 42... ...
Since 2001, overall funding for the respirator certification program has ranged from approximately $2.3 million to $6.4 million (Table 2-2)
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From page 43... ...
Fees for CBRN respirator certification range from $175 to $21,735 (NPPTL, 2007)
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From page 44... ...
As part of its certification efforts, the PPT Program conducts research on im proved testing and certification methodologies. Current research efforts include the enhancement of existing technology to support respirator certification (total inward
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From page 45... ...
Quality assurance evaluations are conducted via product and site audits. Issuance of respirator certification requires that manufacturers maintain quality facilities, processes, and products.
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From page 46... ...
One specialized type of product audit conducted by the PPT Program is the Long-Term Field Evaluation (LTFE) program, which examines the performance of mine escape respirators using a sample of respirators collected from working mines.
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From page 47... ...
The committee urges efforts to provide additional web-based information including a contact point, as well as other efforts to inform employers and respirator users regarding how to submit issues needing investigation. Outputs The most significant output of the respirator certification program is the number of respirator certifications issued, thereby increasing the potential inventory of certified respirators available to workers.
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From page 48... ...
Current concept papers include one on powered air-purifying respirator performance criteria (NIOSH, 2008n)
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From page 49... ...
Federal regulations for respirator certification are detailed in 42 CFR Part 84 and aim to assess the efficacy of respirators used in U.S. workplaces as mandated by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
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From page 50... ...
. The work on establishing CBRN respirator standards involved one to two public meetings annually for several years in addition to widespread input from profes sional organizations and federal agencies.
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From page 51... ...
Federal regulations Since the certification program is conducted under the auspices of 42 CFR Part 84, it operates with the force of law under the authority of the federal regulatory enforcement statutes and is supported by the federal rulemaking process. The federal rule-making process, as outlined in the Administrative Procedure Act (5 USC 5 [511-599]
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From page 52... ...
The overview of the PPT Program's activities and outputs in this area begins with a description of the CBRN standards and then focuses on other regulations that are in the process of being updated. CBRN respirator certification standards The many-faceted efforts to develop and implement standards for the certification of CBRN respirators have been a TABLE 2-9 Steps in the Federal Rule-Making Process for Changes to 42 CFR 84 Estimated Time to Completion Step (months)
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From page 53... ...
As described throughout this report, the CBRN effort involved extensive collaborations with numerous partners and many public meetings. PPT Program staff worked with partner organizations and contractors to collect and evaluate more than 340 standards for respiratory protection equipment from 32 countries and standards organizations (NIOSH, 2007a)
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From page 54... ...
As discussed in the earlier section on the budget for respirator TABLE 2-10 Status of Federal Regulatory Changes (as of March 2008) Closed-circuit escape respirator Submitted for higher agency review in July 2007 Quality assurance module Submitted for higher agency review in October 2007 Total inward leakage (half-masks and full In development; to be submitted for higher agency facepiece respirators)
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From page 55... ...
The federal regulatory work on CBRN standards has been, in many ways, a breakthrough effort by the PPT Program. It has shown the value of a collaborative approach with multiple partnerships, the use of applicable industrial and military technologies, and the value of innovation in expediting the development and publication of new testing and respirator certification standards.
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From page 56... ...
The PPT Program's recent move toward a modular approach to rule making is a step in the right direction. Updates to the respirator certification process are constrained by the require ments of federal rule making, which is a time-intensive process.
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From page 57... ...
2. ������������������������������������������������������������������������������ Improve reliability and level of protection by developing criteria that influ ence personal protective equipment designs to better fit the range of facial dimensions of respirator users in the U.S.
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From page 58... ...
. Workshops sponsored by the PPT Program and the National Technology Transfer Center discussed the requirements for the next generation of mine escape respirators and identified a need for dockable and hybrid equipment that combines a lightweight, easy-to-use, self-contained filtering unit with the ability to connect the respirator to additional units of breathable air (without having to remove the respirator)
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From page 59... ...
For example, in 2006, a panel of test subjects participated in tests of 101 models of half-facepiece respirators to assist in refining performance criteria; the results of this study should be published. The proposed criteria for use in the respirator certification process were the topic of a June 2007 public meeting.
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From page 60... ...
. The 2004 work shop Respiratory Protection for Infectious Agents was organized by the PPT Program to identify research gaps.
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From page 61... ...
. The PPT Program is part of the efforts of the NIOSH-wide Nanotechnology Research Center, and PPT Program staff members have participated with other NIOSH colleagues in developing the NIOSH strategic plan on nanotechnology (NIOSH, 2005a)
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From page 62... ...
However, many research questions remain, and additional resources would allow the PPT Program to develop wide-ranging partnerships with industry and academia to address additional high-priority areas of research. The committee believes that NIOSH has made important strides in forwarding the knowledge base on facial anthropometrics and on respirator fit and total inward leakage.
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From page 63... ...
The relevant dermal and injury objectives for this review as identified by the PPT Program follow: • Improve chemical-barrier protective clothing testing and use practices to reduce worker exposure to chemical dermal hazards. • Improve emergency responder protective clothing to reduce exposure to thermal, biological, and chemical dermal hazards.
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From page 64... ...
At a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stakeholders meeting in April 2001, 16 emergency responders met and developed a 5-year concept research plan relevant to protective clothing (CDC, 2001)
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From page 65... ...
Other projects, particularly on dermal hazard assessment, remain in the NIOSH divisions working in those areas.
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From page 66... ...
More recently, the PPT Program is exploring decontamination issues relevant to protective clothing used by emergency responders to better understand how the wear-and-tear that these products undergo on a daily basis impacts cleaning and decontamination. Work on this project is being done in concert with a private s ector firm and through interactions with NFPA and ASTM International technical committees.
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From page 67... ...
The development of standards and testing methods for a wider array of chemicals is needed and would offer a significant contribution to the goal of utilizing quantitative risk assessment as input to developing and selecting appropriate chemical protective clothing. Relevant to the work on cumulative permeation for dermal risk assessment are the skin notation efforts under way in other divisions at NIOSH.
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From page 68... ...
Research on the physiologic burdens of protective clothing has been a focus of research in the PPT Program, particularly related to firefighter ensembles and the work of the International Association of Fire Fighters' collaborative effort Project HEROES® (Homeland Emergency Response Operational and Equipment Systems) , in conjunction with TSWG, the Department of Homeland Security, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the University of Massachusetts, the University of Arkansas, and a private-sector manufacturing company.
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From page 69... ...
PPT Program staff have also been active in the work of the IAB, an organization focused on the equipment needs of first responders with an emphasis on chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosive issues. PPT Program staff members have served in leadership roles in the Interagency Board's Federal Coordinating Committee and Personal Protective and Operational Equipment Subgroup.
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From page 70... ...
If this work is expanded to a wide variety of chemicals, and par ticularly if it is coupled with dermal permeation work performed in other NIOSH divisions, it will make a significant contribution toward improving chemical pro tective clothing. Because of limited information on the actual hazard that many chemicals pose to the skin and the lack of developed and standardized methods for assessing actual skin exposure, both with and without the use of chemical protec tive clothing, most selection decisions have one of two outcomes: select the best chemical protective clothing based solely or mostly on permeation performance, or select the cheapest products that will not degrade when exposed.
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From page 71... ...
Such factors include the construction of the protective clothing, temperature, exposures to chemical mixtures, decontamination, and cleaning. The only way to be sure that chemical protective clothing is working is to evaluate it in the field.
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From page 72... ...
The target population for the survey was private-sector res pirator users with unemployment insurance programs who were included in the 1999 Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses. The results of the survey were used to identify industries that have a high rate of respiratory protection use.
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From page 73... ...
The plan affords the possibility of leveraging the surveillance initiatives of NIOSH to inform the development of improved protective equipment. Committee Comments on Relevance to Occupational Safety and Health The committee believes that surveillance and dissemination efforts within the PPT Program have a high level of relevance.
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From page 74... ...
The PPT Program has conducted relevant research on total inward leakage, which is a major concern in respiratory protection, and on issues focused on criteria for powered air-purifying respirator regulations. However, the regulatory standards related to these issues are still in the initial stages of the rule-making process and expedited efforts are needed to move the process forward.
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From page 75... ...
This will require particular emphasis on increasing safety by improving the comfort, wearability, and individual and organizational incentives needed to ensure that workers do in fact wear PPT. On the basis of its review of the PPT Program's work in research, certification, and policy and standards setting, the committee has assigned the NIOSH Personal Protective Technology Program a score of 4 for relevance.
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From page 76... ...
2002. NIOSH CBRN respiratory protection standards update.
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From page 77... ...
Presentation to the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/pdfs/ProjectHEROES.pdf (accessed March 17, 2008)
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From page 78... ...
Distributed to the Commit tee to Review the NIOSH Personal Protective Technology Program, January 30, 2008 (available through the National Academies Public Access File)
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From page 79... ...
. NPPTL (National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory)
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From page 80... ...
2007. New respirator fit test panels representing the current U.S.
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