Air-Purifying Respirators

Air-purifying respirators contain either filters that remove aerosols from the air, or cartridges or canisters that collect gases and vapors and remove them from the air. All respirators must be approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and labeled accordingly. There are different types of air-purifying respirators, as follows:

• Non-powered, or negative pressure, air-purifying respirators
• Powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs)

Non-powered air-purifying respirators are designed to cover the nose and mouth or the nose, mouth, and eyes. These types of respirators have a tight-fitting facepiece that must be fit tested for each worker who is required to wear one. There are different types of non-powered respirators, as follows:

• Single-use (that is, disposable) filtering facepiece respirators in which the entire facepiece is made of filtering material
• Elastomeric respirators that contain replaceable filters or cartridges

Powered air-purifying respirators may have a tight-fitting facepiece or a loose-fitting facepiece, such as a hood or helmet. This type of respirator uses a battery-powered blower to pull the air in the room through filters that remove particles or cartridges that remove gases and vapors prior to the air reaching the wearer's breathing zone.

To learn more about Healthcare Respiratory Protection visit our Cal/OSHA Healthcare Respiratory Protection Safety Online Training web page.