On this episode of the IHSA Safety Podcast, Jasmine Kalsi, IHSA's occupational hygienist, discusses the importance of respiratory protection programs for Ontario workplaces. A respiratory protection program is a formal program that outlines the requirements of respiratory protection for specific tasks in the workplace, and includes expectations on respirators, filters, responsibilities of different workplace parties, as well as training expectations. In Ontario, employers are required to have a respiratory protection program when respirators are issued in the workplace.

Jasmine explains that, under Ontario Regulation 833, respirators must be approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a federal agency in the United States. If a respirator is not NIOSH-approved, it must be demonstrated that it has been approved by another testing agency and has a qualified person attest to it, as long as it provides at least equal protection to that of a NIOSH-approved respirator.

Choosing the right respirator is crucial for protecting workers from specific airborne hazards, which is why a risk assessment is essential to determine what workers can be exposed to. Jasmine mentions the two main categories of respirators: air purifying respirators and supplied air respirators. Air purifying respirators remove contaminants by filtering out particulates, while supplied air respirators supply clean air from a compressed air tank or airline.

IHSA has various resources for respirators, including posters on respirator basics and safety talks on fit, inspection, and maintenance.

Free Resources

IHSA.ca - Occupational Health

Respiratory Basics Poster

Facial Hairstyles and Filtering Facepiece Respirators

Regulation 833: Control of exposure to biological or chemical agents

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