NIOSH Publishes Guide to Atmosphere-Supplying Respirators

A new guide published last week by NIOSH describes different types of atmosphere-supplying respirators, which provide clean breathing air from a source independent of the work area. According to the agency, atmosphere-supplying respirators protect workers from many types of airborne contaminants. In certain cases, these respirators can also protect workers from oxygen-deficient atmospheres. NIOSH’s brief guide covers supplied-air respirators, self-contained breathing apparatus, and combination supplied-air/self-contained breathing apparatus. NIOSH reminds employers and wearers that respirators must be approved by its respirator approval program and used in the context of a complete respiratory protection program per OSHA’s respiratory protection standard, which includes annual fit-testing for all respirators with a tight-fitting facepiece.

The guide is available for download from NIOSH’s website.