Voluntary respirators below nuisance-dust exposure limits

May 15, 1997
Mr. Michael A. Russo
President
Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics
& Allied Workers International Union
Local Union #77
[Recipient address omitted]
Dear Mr. Russo:
This letter is in response to your March 11 letter expressing disagreement with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) New York Regional Office's response to your respirator questions. However, we concur with Mr. Shapiro's response.
It appears from your first letter that the Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs) for Nuisance Dust are not being exceeded at the fiberglass facility you are discussing. This would indicate that the employer would not have to provide respiratory protection nor provide for any of the other requirements of a respirator protection program to comply with OSHA standards.
if employees do wear respirators on the job, even when the PEL is not being exceeded, various elements from the respirator standard apply, and the employer could become liable for violation of these OSHA standards. Even where employees provide their own protective equipment, the employer is responsible to assure its adequacy, proper maintenance, and sanitation. A determination should also be made of each user's medical fitness to wear a respirator. If the employer does choose to provide respirators when air contaminants are below the PEL, OSHA standards do not prohibit the employee from wearing a more protective respirator.
In several of its expanded standards, OSHA does require the employer to provide powered air-purifying respirators if requested by the employee and if it will provide adequate protection to the employee.
~~Powered air-purifying respirators (PAPR) usage has been discussed during rule making for a revised respiratory protection standard. The comments we received were not in support of allowing employees to request different types of respirator. It was felt that the employer or safety and health professional in charge of the respirator program was in the best position to assure that the appropriate respirator is chosen.~~ PAPRs are noted for their ability to provide increased protection, easier breathing, and greater worker acceptance. These are factors that should be taken into account during respirator selection.
[This document was edited on 03/30/99 to strike information that no longer reflects current OSHA policy.]
In the absence of a potential overexposure, the decision to allow the employee to purchase and to use a personal PAPR respirator would be strictly a labor/management issue left to the employer and employee representatives, not OSHA.
Should you require any additional information on this matter, please contact [the Office of Health Enforcement at (202) 693-1681].
Sincerely,
John B. Miles, Jr., Director
Directorate of Compliance Programs

[Corrected 11/28/2006]

[Requester letter reproduced on OSHA page; omitted here.]