The Society for Human Resource Management reports, in an article published today, on a proposed rule issued by OSHA on December 26th concerning testing of industrial respirators (see our Dec 27th blog post). The article states that OSHA has "issued a proposed rule—Abbreviated Bitrex Qualitative Fit-Testing Protocol (ABQLFT)—that would give employers the option of deciding which 'qualitative fit-test' to use when determining whether respirators will protect workers from airborne contaminants. The proposed regulation would not change how respirators are tested but would reduce the time for each test."
What's new in this article is that it includes a response from the AFL-CIO in which they say they may have concerns about this change. The article reports that:
"The AFL-CIO has already consulted a respirator expert who has 'serious concerns' over shortening the fit-test period from 1 minute to 15 seconds, says Bill Kojola, an industrial hygienist for the AFL-CIO. The union is reviewing the regulations but has not yet taken a formal position. But the agency should take pause, especially given the potential harm to workers should the shorter test period not be sufficient to test the fit of respirator masks properly, he says."
Read the article here: http://www.shrm.org/hrnews_published/articles/CMS_024445.asp
What's new in this article is that it includes a response from the AFL-CIO in which they say they may have concerns about this change. The article reports that:
"The AFL-CIO has already consulted a respirator expert who has 'serious concerns' over shortening the fit-test period from 1 minute to 15 seconds, says Bill Kojola, an industrial hygienist for the AFL-CIO. The union is reviewing the regulations but has not yet taken a formal position. But the agency should take pause, especially given the potential harm to workers should the shorter test period not be sufficient to test the fit of respirator masks properly, he says."
Read the article here: http://www.shrm.org/hrnews_published/articles/CMS_024445.asp
Labels: Industrial Health, Industrial Safety
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