Respiratory Protection Management: Current Issues

1.0 IH CM Point/0.8 CEU/COC Point

Sponsor: Respiratory Protection Committee

Course level: Intermediate

Prerequisites:  Working knowledge of respiratory protection and industrial hygiene practices.

Who will benefit:

• Industrial hygienists
• OEHS managers, supervisors, and directors
• Respiratory protection program managers
• Physicians and licensed health care providers
• Consultants

Course Specifics: Participants will acquire a working knowledge of OSHA's Respiratory Protection Standard and related respiratory program tools. Emphasis will be placed on the practical aspects of day-to-day program management. Recent changes in legal and practical aspects of the standard (29CFR1910.134) have given rise to questions regarding implementation of this and related standards, although OSHA has published guidance documents. The course will present recognized elements for a respirator program compliant with 29CFR 1910.134 and information that can be used to assess the quality of the respirator manufacturer and the properties of the respirators currently available. The goal is to provide participants with information and resources needed to review, update, tailor, and manage respiratory programs for a variety of industrial and first responder environments.

Learning Objectives:

• Develop a respirator protection program or implement appropriate changes in an existing program to comply with OSHA's Respiratory Protection Standard.
• Establish safe, reliable replacement schedules for chemical cartridge/canister respirators.
• Semiquantify the differences between workplace protection factors, assigned protection factors, and total inward leakage values.
• Anticipate the effects of chemical agents and disinfectants/decontaminants on respirator materials of construction.
• Recognize the physiological effects of respirators on workers and first responders and their performance. Retrieve the most appropriate respirator reference materials from AIHA, OSHA, NIOSH, ANSI, and respirator manufacturers.
• Establish respirator program metrics.
• Quantify/determine the return-on-investment of the program.
• Discuss the current issues surrounding respirator selection for response to nanomaterials, weapons of mass destruction, and biological agents, such as avian flu.

Course Outline:

• Introduction
• Overview of the Respiratory Protection Standard
• Discussion of program elements
• Development of a respirator replacement schedule
• Effects of chemical agents on respirator materials of construction
• Efficacy of disinfectants/decontaminants
• Medical evaluations
• Physiological effects of respirator wear
• Respirator fit testing/assigned protection factors
• Training of employees
• Surveillance, program evaluation, and record keeping
• Suppliers, equipment evaluation, and purchasing
• Development of program metrics
• Determining return-on-investment of program
• Current topics and issues
• Conclusion

Time to Complete: This course will take approximately eight hours to complete. You will have up to 12 months from your enrollment date to complete the course.

Instructors:

Arthur T. Johnson, PhD, PE

Arthur T. Johnson attended Cornell University for his undergraduate and graduate degrees. His PhD was awarded in 1969, and he immediately began serving as an officer in the U.S. Army, eventually serving in Viet Nam at the rank of captain. He joined the faculty of the University of Maryland in 1975, and has been Professor since 1986. He helped found the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and served as its Executive Director in 2004. He has been president of the Alliance for Engineering in Medicine and Biology, Institute for Biological Engineering, and International Society for Respiratory Protection. He is the secretary of the Biomedical Engineering Society. He has been on the board of directors of the American Society for Agricultural and Biological Engineers. He is Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, the American Society for Engineering Education, the American Society for Agricultural and Biological Engineering, the American Industrial Hygiene Association, and the Biomedical Engineering Society. His research interests are human performance wearing respiratory protective masks, respiratory mechanics and measurement, and transport processes.

James Johnson, PhD, CIH

James Johnson, Ph.D., CIH, QEP has worked at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) since 1972 were his current position since November 2000 was section leader of the Chemical and Biological Safety Section in the Safety Programs Division. Through out his career at LLNL he has been involved with respiratory protection as the respirator program administrator, research scientist, and Division/Section manager. Johnson is an AIHA Fellow, the past president of the International Society for Respiratory Protection, Secretariat Chairman of American National Standards Institute: Z88 for Respiratory Protection and a member of the American Industrial Hygiene Association Respiratory Committee. Johnson retired from LLNL July 1, 2006 and is now a part time consultant.

John E. Steelnack

John E. Steelnack is the OSHA’s project officer assigned to the Respiratory Protection Standard (revision) 29 CFR 1910.134 and the Assigned Protection Factor rulemaking.  His responsibilities in this role include:

• Arranging new OSHA respiratory protection standard regulations
• Writing supporting documentation describing and supporting new provisions. 
• Preparing preamble discussions of respirator research studies, fit testing protocols, respirator cartridge change schedules, and respirator program provisions.
• Organizing public hearing reports and testimony
• Participating in various respiratory protection technical committees with NIOSH and ANSI
• Coordinating research studies for hood/helmet respirators. 
• Rulemaking fit test protocol on Bitrex qualitative and PortaCount quantitative fit test testing. 

Steelnack is a recipient of Secretary’s Exceptional Achievement Award for Respiratory Protection, a Member of ACGIH, serves on several ANSI Committees (ANSI Z88, ANSI Z88.2, ANSI Z88.10-2001, ANSI Z88.14) and serves the U.S. Technical Advisory Group for ISO/TC94/SC15.  His publications include:

• OSHA Respiratory Protection Final Standard – January, 1998
• OSHA Assigned Protection Factors NPRM – June, 2003
• OSHA Assigned Protection Factors Final Standard – August 24, 2006

He holds a MS in Biology, from George Mason University and a BS in Biology, from American University.

Zane Frund, PhD

Zane N. Frund, Ph.D. is the manager of chemical research and respiratory product development, MSA Co. Dr. Frund is responsible for the safety and hygiene of MSA research facility staff members, as well as the development and testing of respirators and other PPE. He holds patents on PPE devices such as the multi-purpose GME/GME-P100 Respirator cartridge, and on chemically resistant laminated garment materials. He has also published and presented several papers on the advances in respiratory protection, and the appropriate selection and performance of respirators.  He has also served as an editor for the Journal for the International Society for Respiratory Protection, and articles for the Journal for Occupational and Environmental Health

Course Components: Video of the live PDC, supplemental reading materials, course presentation, a final exam and an evaluation.