NIOSH Encourages Employers to Participate in Upcoming Survey on Respirator Use, Practices

An upcoming NIOSH survey is intended to assess respirator use and practices across all industries in the United States for the first time in more than 20 years. The agency intends to use the data to update estimates of the numbers of companies and employees using respirators, determine the reasons respirators are being used, and examine how employers are managing their use. New questions added to the survey since it was first conducted in 2001 will help NIOSH better understand how the COVID-19 pandemic affected respirator use in many industries over the last three years, the agency says. The survey will also help ensure that NIOSH’s respirator approval program is able to address all current respirator uses and practices.

NIOSH will begin inviting employers to participate in the survey early next month. The agency encourages all businesses to participate. “This information is critical to informing future research and development within NIOSH’s Respirator Approval Program,” said Maryann D’Alessandro, PhD, director of NIOSH’s National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory.

For further details, see NIOSH’s news update. Questions can be emailed to NIOSH.