Frameworks for Protecting Workers and the Public from Inhalation Hazards (2022) / Chapter Skim
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6 Respiratory Protection Oversight and Guidance for Workers
6 Respiratory Protection Oversight and Guidance for Workers
Pages 295-322
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From page 295... ...
. As discussed in Chapters 2 and 3, however, there remain large numbers of workers who are exposed to inhalation hazards that increase their risk of illness but are not covered by these OSHA-mandated programs (or programs required by other federal agencies, such as the Mine Safety and Health Administration [MSHA]
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From page 296... ...
Under this interpretation, a business owner who uses contract labor may be largely outside the authority of OSHA. Additionally, the OSH Act limits OSHA's authority in circumstances in which other federal agencies "exercise statutory authority to prescribe or enforce standards or regulations affecting occupational safety or health."4 In some cases, those agencies defer to OSHA standards for worker protection, including the Respiratory Protection Standard, but they are under no obligation to do so.
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From page 297... ...
Consequently, in the face of novel or unanticipated threats, such as wildfire smoke or SARS-CoV-2, there is no preexisting foundation for ensuring adequate respiratory protection for most workers not covered by RPPs. The committee examined other models of worker safety and health regulation around the world, particularly worker protection laws based on the legal concept of "duty of care" (Commission for Occupational Safety and Health, 2005)
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From page 298... ...
Act to clarify the definitions of employer and employee such that OSHA has the authority necessary to ensure respiratory protection for all types of workers, including all private-sector workers, over whom OSHA currently does not exercise its authority. Revised language in the Act should make clear that persons and entities conducting a business have a primary duty and thus are required to ensure, to the extent reason ably practicable, that the health of their workers -- as well as that of other workers influenced or directed by the business, consumers, and the public -- is not put at risk by inhalation hazards resulting from the business's activities.
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From page 299... ...
Act to ensure that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA's) respiratory protection requirements apply to all private-sector employers and workers facing inhalation hazards, or OSHA expands its definitions of employer and employee to cover all private-sector workers, states should require employers to protect workers who are not currently under OSHA jurisdiction from inhala tion hazards through the passage of new laws or promulgation of new regulations.
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From page 300... ...
One critical element toward success for a framework targeting workers currently not within OSHA's purview, pending adoption of the above recommendation, would be designating OSHA, in collaboration with NIOSH, as the overall coordinating entity to oversee the functions of the committee's general framework. Function F0: Develop and Approve Respiratory Protective Devices In the context of worker health, a NIOSH-approved respirator is currently the only appropriate respiratory protective device for protecting workers facing inhalation hazards.
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From page 301... ...
NIOSH conducts research and conformity assessment for respirators, and OSHA and MSHA require employers to select only those devices approved by NIOSH. Both private and public entities participate in standards setting through consensus standards bodies such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
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From page 302... ...
The director of NPPTL has confirmed that NIOSH is actively exploring ways in which it could incorporate the use of independent third-party laboratories into its respirator approval program. Recommendation 6-3: Improve the Timeliness and Capacity of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's (NIOSH's)
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From page 303... ...
. However, OSHA does not require employers to provide an RPP in all contexts in which inhalation hazards are present.
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From page 304... ...
As noted in Chapter 2, most workers are not covered by an RPP or by mandatory workplace safety standards addressing the use of respiratory protection. Yet recent experiences with novel and unanticipated threats, such as wildfire smoke and SARS-CoV-2, indicate the potential need to introduce respiratory protection measures at an expanded number of worksites when inhalation hazards exist and other control measures are not feasible.
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From page 305... ...
.11 OSHA used this authority to issue the mini RPP for health care workers as part of its 2021 ETS for COVID-19.12 Such an approach may be useful in emergency circumstances when increased respiratory protection is needed for emergent dangers, including situations involving wildfire smoke or airborne pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2. However, the protection offered by an ETS is temporary, and must generally proceed to additional rulemaking procedures.
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From page 306... ...
Given the urgency of the respiratory protection needs of work ers facing these and other inhalation hazards, Congress should set deadlines for OSHA's promulgation of these standards. In the interim, OSHA, in conjunction with NIOSH, should develop comprehensive guidelines, including the use of NIOSH-approved respirators, for work ers who are at high risk of exposure to these hazards.
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From page 307... ...
Protecting workers without RPPs from inhalation hazards will require a more expansive effort to establish or update workplace exposure standards. Given its scope, OSHA will need to explore creative approaches to undertaking such an effort effectively and efficiently and, where feasible, without regulation.
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From page 308... ...
fail to protect workers from inhalation hazards, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and other agencies with authority over worker safety (e.g., Environmental Protection Agency, Mine Safety and Health Administration, Department of Energy) require that only NIOSH-approved respirators be selected.
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From page 309... ...
This determination would be informed by the ongoing hazard assessments discussed above. OSHA and NIOSH would also need to collaborate with federal authorities responsible for the supply chain to aid in understanding the potential scope of respiratory protection needs for workers during a large-scale incident involving inhalation hazards.
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From page 310... ...
, employers (especially those running small businesses) and others would likely need assistance in assessing inhalation hazards and facilitating the selection of and training on appropriate respirators.
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From page 311... ...
Engaging labor, academia, and nonprofit groups already working closely with specific worker populations in these efforts would help ensure that materials are designed in collaboration with, meet the needs of, and are provided to workers, particularly those in difficult-to-reach settings who are most vulnerable, including those not currently under OSHA's jurisdiction. Recommendation 6-7: Support the Development of Targeted and Tai lored Guidance and Training for Workers The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the Occu pational Safety and Health Administration, the Environmental Protec tion Agency, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and other relevant federal agencies should expand grant programs and other support mechanisms to facilitate the translation of existing tech nical information on respiratory protection into tailored and culturally appropriate guidance and training materials designed for workers, particularly those who may be using respirators outside of a respiratory protection program.
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From page 312... ...
Recognizing that respiratory protection is the least effective approach to reducing risks from inhalation hazards in the hierarchy of controls (although a necessary one) , this cycle needs to be integrated into comprehensive research efforts aimed at reducing inhalation hazards (e.g., vaccine development, approaches to reducing greenhouse gas emission, the design of improved engineering controls)
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From page 313... ...
Even less information is available with which to characterize the needs of workers whose normal working conditions do not require respiratory protection, but who may on occasion encounter high levels of wildfire smoke, other sources of extreme ambient air pollution, or airborne-transmissible infectious agents. Existing RPP requirements for medical clearance and fit testing for respirators address some of the design limitations of these devices, including increased resistance, visual field limitations, and fit characteristics.
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From page 314... ...
Research and Surveillance Programs In consultation with the Occupational Safety and Health Administra tion and in collaboration with relevant federal agencies (e.g., Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority) , NIOSH should launch expanded surveil lance and intramural and extramural research programs to better un derstand and meet the needs of all workers facing inhalation hazards.
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From page 315... ...
Requirements The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health should conduct research to assist the Occupational Safety and Health Admin istration (OSHA) in evaluating RPP requirements for routine workplace exposures, exposures to inhalation hazards during response to emer gencies, and incidental exposures in the workplace.
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From page 316... ...
Function F6: Coordination At present, there is little formal coordination among agencies or other entities involved in preventing exposure to inhalation hazards among workers not covered by OSHA-mandated RPPs. The committee's proposed framework for these workers envisions a system that includes ongoing data collection and interaction with manufacturers, distributors, and purchasers of devices, as well as federal, state, and local government agencies.
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From page 317... ...
-Approved Respirators in Guidance for Workers Facing Inhalation Hazards Recommendation 6-6: Prepare to Meet Expanded Worker Respiratory Protection Needs Recommendation 6-7: Support the Development of Targeted and Tailored Guidance and Training for Workers continued
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From page 318... ...
Requirements Other Federal Recommendation 6-5: Recommend Only National Institute for Agencies Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) -Approved Respirators (Environmental in Guidance for Workers Facing Inhalation Hazards Protection Agency, Mine Safety and Recommendation 6-7: Support the Development of Targeted Health Administration, Department of and Tailored Guidance and Training for Workers Energy, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)
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From page 319... ...
1998. Assessing occupational safety and health training: A literature review.
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From page 320... ...
2008. The personal protective technology program at NIOSH: Reviews of research programs of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
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From page 321... ...
Cincinnati, OH: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Depart ment of Health and Human Services. RTI International.
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From page 322... ...
2021. Potential impacts of Washington State's wildfire worker protection rule on construction workers.
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