Respirators protect workers against insufficient oxygen environments, harmful dusts, fogs, smokes, mists, gases, vapors, and sprays. These hazards may cause cancer, lung impairment, diseases, or death. Respirators protect the user in two basic ways. The first is by the removal of contaminants from the air. Respirators of this type include particulate respirators, which filter out airborne particles, and air-purifying respirators with cartridges/canisters which filter out chemicals and gases. Other respirators protect by supplying clean respirable air from another source. Respirators that fall into this category include airline respirators, which use compressed air from a remote source, and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), which include their own air supply.
Respiratory Protection Program (RPP)
Cal/OSHA, California Code of Regulations, Title 8, Section 1529, 1531, 5144 and 5208. Cal/OSHA, California Code of Regulations, Title 3, Section 6739 and Code of Federal Regulations, Title 29, Section 1910.134.
California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), Department of Industrial Relations (Cal/OSHA)
The purpose of this program is to prevent exposure to hazardous atmospheres. This will be accomplished, as far as is feasible, by elimination of those hazards or exposures through engineering and work practice controls. When control measures are not feasible or inadequate, respiratory protective devices may be required to achieve this goal. When employees and/or students are required to use respiratory protective devices, they will do so in accordance with OSHA standards and other regulatory guidelines. To ensure regulatory compliance and safety, any employee using a respiratory protective device shall comply with the provisions of this Respiratory Protection Program.
The requirements of this program apply to university employees and students who use respiratory protective devices.
- This program shall apply to all departments and persons that are required to wear respiratory protective equipment because their work activities include the potential exposure to toxic air contaminants that cannot be safely controlled by engineering methods, or by substitution of a less toxic material.
- Respiratory protective equipment is required for work in:
- Environments with toxic contaminant and radioactive levels exceeding acceptable limits
- For emergency use situations
- The employees at Stanislaus State are not trained in using nor provided supplied air respiratory protective equipment; therefore, work in oxygen deficient atmospheres is not permitted unless proper ventilation controls are implemented.
- Only those persons designated by the supervisor and who are engaged in work requiring the use of respiratory protective equipment, and who have been properly fitted and trained shall use such equipment.
It is the policy of the Stanislaus State to maintain, insofar as it is reasonably within its control to do so, a campus environment for faculty, staff, students, and the public that will not adversely affect their health and safety nor subject them to avoidable risks of accidental injury or illness. Toward this end, Stanislaus State is committed to providing an appropriate work environment which will be adhered to by all affected parties.
Updated: December 15, 2023