Use of a nonapproved emergency respirator

October 22, 1997

Michael A. Reandeau, Supervisor
Licensing Administration
Illinois Power Company
Clinton Power Station
[Recipient address omitted]
Dear Mr. Reandeau;

This is in response to your August 7 letter to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requesting approval and acceptance of the Quickmask respirator manufactured by Fume Free, Inc. for use during "tactical situations". Your letter specifically seeks OSHA approval through a compliance Instruction dated March 30, 1984 that mentions a narrow set of conditions where OSHA might accept a product such as a cartridge or canister that is not approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

OSHA is not a respirator testing and approval agency. This responsibility belongs to NIOSH. OSHA depends heavily upon the expertise at NIOSH to evaluate respirators and their components. On rare occasions OSHA might accept a nonapproved component such as a specific cartridge or canister on an approved respirator after thorough testing and evaluation of the component indicate that workers would be adequately protected for the intended use of the respirator. In addition, the employer must demonstrate there is a strong unique need for the unapproved component in the workplace. OSHA would also require employers to conduct, air monitoring of the workers to determine the that the contaminant concentrations do not exceed the protection afforded by the respirator.

OSHA is very much concerned about workers using adequate protective equipment. Emergency use respirators are especially important to workers since they could be used under extreme conditions. The information in your request is not sufficient for us or for NIOSH to determine whether workers will be provided adequate protection when they are used. The design of the Quickmask is radically different than those presently approved by NIOSH. Since this device is so different, we advise you to continue to work with the NIOSH staff in Morgantown, West Virginia to develop evaluation criteria for its approval.

If you have any questions concerning this letter or if you want to discuss your request further, please feel free to contact Stephen Mallinger at (202) 219-8036 ext. 35.

Sincerely,

John B. Miles, Jr., Director
Directorate of Compliance Programs

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