PPE Knowledge

How to choose a proper respirator?

1.       What to consider when choosing a respirator?

Possible respiratory hazards and the protection level required.

2.       Check the following before using filtering protection:

Is there enough oxygen in the ambient air?

What contaminants are in the ambient air?

What are the concentrations of the contaminants?

Are the contaminants in gas, particle, or vapor form? Or are they a mixture?

Do the contaminants have adequate warning properties (e.g. smell or taste?)

What are the applicable Occupational Exposure Limits (OEL)?

3.       What kind of respirator to choose?

NFP (nominal protection factors) is the highest permissible leakage level according to the approval requirements of the respective device. The following table indicates the NFP of common respiratory protective devices at different levels:

To evaluate the minimum required protection factor, you will need to know the concentration of the hazardous substance and the assigned OEL.

Following is an example of choosing the protection level:

Contaminant: Lead dust (particles protection needed)

Concentration at the workplace: 3mg/m³

Occupational exposure limit (OEL): 0.1mg/m³

Minimum protection factor = concentration of contaminant / EOL=3/0.1=30

In this case, at least a FFP3/ P3 level respiratory with the nominal protection factor of 30 is needed.

* Please be aware of other protection that also need to be done in the workplace such (e.g. eye or ear protection).