Respiratory Protection are they protecting your employees?
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) state if a hazardous substance cannot be controlled by other means, that as a last resort suitable respiratory protection must be provided.
To satisfy this test the following steps must be taken so that employees are not exposed.
- Selection of the correct level of respiratory protection.
- It must fit the wearer with a good seal.
- To comply a ‘Respirator Fit Test’ must be carried out by a competent person.
- Regular Health Surveillance must be carried out as necessary.
A respirator fit test makes sure that the respirator selected fits the individual’s facial contours correctly by providing a suitable seal protecting the workers from inhaling the substance causing ill health.
An employee must be retested at least every 12 months to make sure that the specific make, model, style, and size of respirator that you will be using. Is still suitable and fit for purpose.
There are two basic types of ‘Respiratory Fit Testing’ Qualitative and Quantitative.
Qualitative test is a simple pass or fail test. It is based on the user’s assessment of whether they can taste a smell a test agent being used when a test is being carried out, It’s not suitable for full-face respiratory protection.
Quantitative test is much more involved it measures the adequacy of a respirator fit by numerically measuring the amount of leakage into the respirator it can be used to assess full-face masks as well as half-mask respirators.
Only an accredited Fit2Fit RPE fit tester is deemed competent to carryout respiratory fit testing.
A suitable person can be found using this link
A suitable Health surveillance programme and statutory medical surveillance will need to be implemented if there is a potential of ill health, this will be determined by undertaking a suitable risk assessment of the task.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) can provide further information, you can find this information here.