OSHA Guidance for Respirator Shortage
COVID-19, Government Affairs
On: April 06, 2020 | By:
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued new Enforcement Guidance for Use of Respiratory Protection Equipment Certified under Standards of Other Countries or Jurisdictions During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic. This memorandum provides additional interim guidance to Compliance Safety and Health Officers (CSHOs) for enforcing the Respiratory Protection standard, 29 CFR § 1910.134, and certain other health standards, with regard to supply shortages of disposable N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs). This guidance applies in all industries and outlines enforcement discretion to permit the use of FFRs and air-purifying elastomeric respirators that are either:
- Certified under certain standards of other countries or jurisdictions, as specified below; or
- When equipment certified under standards of other countries or jurisdictions is not available, previously certified under the standards of other countries or jurisdictions but are beyond their manufacturer’s recommended shelf life (i.e., expired).
For more information about COVID -19 please visit OSHA’s COVID-19 webpage and CDC's COVID-19 webpage.
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