Respiratory Protection

Employees who are mandated under the Cal/OSHA benzene regulations to use respirators must be supplied with them by their employers. Employers must also implement a respiratory protection program.

Cal/OSHA regulations require that respirators be used in the following circumstances:

• During emergencies
• During periods necessary to install or implement feasible engineering and work practice controls
• During work operations for which compliance with either the PEL or STEL through the use of engineering and work practice controls is not feasible because exposures are intermittent in nature and limited in duration
• During work operations for which feasible engineering and work practice controls are not yet sufficient or are not required to reduce exposure to or lower than the PEL or STEL

To learn more about Benzene Safety visit our Cal/OSHA Benzene Safety Online Training web page.