 A respirator, or air-filtering face piece, is designed to specifically filter out hazards that may enter the body through the nose and mouth when a person breathes. UCSD's Respiratory Protection Program (RPP) ensures employees who use respirators understand their capabilities and limitations.
Requirements
A respirator may at times be required to protect the health of employees when the work environment is contaminated with materials that are hazardous to breathe. At UCSD, this may include:
- Employees who enter confined spaces
- Paint sprayers
- Pesticide and fertilizer applicators
- Hazardous materials handlers
- Some researchers
- Asbestos abatement employees
- Some art studio employees
- Employees whose exposure level is at or above the Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) of the contaminant
If you need a respirator, see How to Get a Respirator.
Certification
Use of respirators is strictly regulated in California. Employees who are required to wear a respirator during work activities must first be certified through the Respiratory Protection Program administered by Environment, Health & Safety (EH&S).
Certification includes:
Face pieces and filters are then issued specifically for the type of materials or atmosphere the employee may encounter and must be individually fitted to the user.
Voluntary use of N-95 filtering facepieces
Cal/OSHA encourages voluntary users of N-95 filtering facepieces to review Appendix D of the California Respiratory Protective Equipment standard. UCSD encourages these employees to follow standard operating procedures developed for voluntary users.
Related policies
Questions? Contact the EH&S Occupational Health & Hygiene Division, (858) 534-1075.
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