The fundamental goal of any respiratory protection program is to control occupational diseases caused by breathing air contaminated with harmful dusts, fogs, fumes, mists, gases, smokes, sprays, and/or vapors. The defense against these contaminants is simple: Keep them out of the air that workers breathe. Always implement engineering and/or administrative controls first. If contaminants still present a hazard, you must provide appropriate respiratory protection for every employee who might be exposed to them.

The 7 Key Elements

Chances are that you are already familiar with the need for and use of respirators in your workplace, but as with anything else, it doesn’t hurt to review your current program against standard operating procedures governing the selection and use of respirators. According to program details in OSHA’s Respiratory Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134), the seven key elements that every respiratory protection program should contain are:

Fit Testing is required for any face mask (full or half) designed to have a tight seal along the face, whether it is used in a positive- or negative-pressure mode, and whether it is disposable or not.

The new Advantage 4000 Twin Port Full-Face Respirator raises the performance of industrial full-facepiece respirators to a new level. Based on the Advantage 3000 Facepiece, the respirator features a wraparound lens combined with a soft, pliable Hycar or silicone facepiece that provides a total solution to your air-purifying needs. Its fit technology is based on the proven face seal of the Ultra Elite Facepiece. For the utmost convenience, the Advantage 4000 uses the same cartridges and filters as the Advantage 200 LS and Advantage 3000 Respirator. In addition, the facepiece lens has scratch-resistant coating and has been engineered to be optically correct, giving you superior visibility and peripheral vision.  The Advantage 4000 Respirator enhances worker performance through a new design that allows low breathing resistance and includes a standard nose cup that reduces fogging in low temperatures or high humidity conditions. Options include spectacle kits for corrective lenses, coverlens and welders adapter. Donning the mask is made easier with a comfortable net-type harness with a four-point adjustable suspension. Wearers also can choose pre-adjustable rubber straps.

 For more detail information click this link to checkout the Advantage 4000 Brochure

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires fit tests to ensure proper fit for workers who use respirators. Quantitative testing methods rely on objective data to determine a proper fit. Qualitative fit-test methods are subjective in nature and rely on the judgment of the test subject.