Seek the Help of Outside Experts

Although large hospitals may have sufficient resources to conduct respiratory hazard evaluations on their own, in most cases, outside experts are better equipped to identify potential respiratory hazards. In addition to the initial evaluation, the respiratory protection program must include a process of evaluation to ensure that the program functions effectively in the future. Onsite experts or safety and health experts from outside organizations can help a facility to perform the initial analysis and to determine the optimal frequency for program evaluation.

These experts are safety and health professionals working in the following fields:

• Cal/OSHA Consultation Service
• Workers' compensation carriers
• Private consulting firms
• Industry associations
• Respirator product vendors

These experts have the proper tools to measure hazard exposure levels accurately. Accurate hazard measurements are critical in order to ensure that the following goals are met:

• An appropriate respiratory protection is identified
• An accurate schedule for air-purifying respirator cartridge replacement is determined

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