Respiratory protective equipment

Respiratory protection

The instances where there is need for the wearing of respiratory protective equipment (RPE) within a laboratory setting should be few as respiratory protection should only be considered necessary when engineering controls cannot be used effectively. Thus, work involving toxic gases, hazardous volatile substances and dusts, or any other respiratory hazard, should be kept away from persons by placing such work in a glove box, fume cupboard or other well ventilated zone.

When respiratory protection is chosen, it must be selected by relating the hazard to the respirator so that the expected protection to the wearer is fully realised. Half or full face respirators with replaceable canister type filters is the type recommended for use against such hazards and such a respirator, fitted with the appropriate filter(s), will protect against dusts, gases and vapours, but only against relatively low concentrations. Disposable masks with at minimum P3 protection factor can be used if a suitable fit is not achievable on a re-usable half mask or for certain specific tasks. Paper (spit) masks must not be used unless used for comfort only. The University has specific guidance for which masks should be used, detailed below.

It is a requirement of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations that respiratory protective equipment is regularly inspected and tested, with appropriate record keeping and that users are adequately trained in the correct use and maintenance of such equipment. Also in compliance with the COSHH Regulations wearers of respirators that rely on a tight fit to the face to protect the worker are required to be individually face-fit tested to a particular make and size of respirator and a certificate of successful fit-test obtained, see: http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/health-safety/guidance/ppe/facefit

Self-contained breathing apparatus (BA) provides the best personal protection against toxic gases and hazardous volatile substances, but must never be used by untrained personnel. The School of Chemistry has a BA team trained for mobilisation in case of chemical spill, or gas escape, but only within that School. Some other Schools have trained Spill Teams who are equipped with full-face respirators and can be mobilised to deal with chemical spills. All new staff/students must be inducted as to the system(s) operating in their particular School.

RPE guidance when working with animals

Animal Allergens Guidance document

All users of RPE must be trained in the use and maintenance of the masks and hands on training is given during the facefit test of halfmasks.

The following courses are available on People and Money and LEARN Ultra:

• A short training session, covering most of the content on this page, called Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE), is available on People and Money (for staff).  The Learn Ultra course (for students) is being migrated to Learn Ultra and will be available very soon. This course, as well as two others, is also mandatory if you work with laboratory animals.

• More specific courses on the selection, use and maintenance of tight fitting facemasks and powered hoods are also available and are recommended to be completed at regular intervals, for example annually. (These courses are currently being re-built/migrated and will be available very soon).

When respiratory protection is chosen, it must be selected by relating the hazard to the respirator so that the expected protection to the wearer is fully realised. Half or full face respirators with replaceable canister type filters is the type recommended for use against such hazards and such a respirator, fitted with the appropriate filter(s), will protect against dusts, gases and vapours, but only against relatively low concentrations. Disposable masks with at minimum P3 protection factor (see below for explanation of protection factors) can be used if a suitable fit is not achievable on a re-usable half mask or for certain specific tasks. Paper (spit) masks must not be used (see below for explanation of types of masks) unless used for comfort only.

It is a requirement of the COSHH Regulations that respiratory protective equipment is regularly inspected and tested, with appropriate record keeping and that users are adequately trained in the correct use and maintenance of such equipment. Also in compliance with the COSHH Regulations wearers of respirators that rely on a tight fit to the face to protect the worker are required to be individually face-fit tested to a particular make and size of respirator and a certificate of successful fit-test obtained.

Respirator facefit testing

Surgical/Paper (spit) masks

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These masks are often worn to protect the experiment or for comfort against nuisance odours and should never be worn to protect staff or students against a respiratory risk as they do not provide any respiratory protection to the wearer.

These are either of the fold-flat style or moulded and can look similar to the disposable masks below. However, they will never be marked up with any respiratory protection ratings.

Disposable half masks

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Disposable respirators (masks) to EN149: 2001 only protect against particulate, fume and oil or water based mists (all classed as particulate) - they do not provide protection against gases or vapours.

Disposable respirators, or FFP - Filtering Face Piece Masks, are available in three classes P1, P2 and P3 providing differing protection factors (levels). (See table below). The University recommends that a minimum of P3 protection is the standard for particle protection for disposable masks.

The Alpha Solway 3030V half-mask has been chosen as the standard disposable mask.

Reusable half masks

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For protection against gases and vapours reusable half mask respirators require to be fitted with filters suitable to protect against the particular hazard present in the work activity. These masks can also protect against particles or a combination of particles, gases and vapours.

The respirator of choice for half-masks is the 3M 7500 re-usable half-face respirator. If the 3M masks are not a suitable fit for staff, the alternative is the Sundstrom SR100.

Full face mask

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If eye protection is also required and/or the levels of contaminant are likely to be higher than the protection factor that a half mask provides, then a full face mask will be required.

Please note, these types of full face masks are not suitable for oxygen depleted areas. Only air-powered hoods (breathing apparatus) must be used for those occasons.

The full-face respirator chosen to standardise on is the 3M 6000 range as the same fit-testing adapters are used and, should it be required, the filters can be interchanged with those of the 3M 7500. If the 3M masks are not a suitable fit for staff, the alternative is the Sundstrom SR200.

Note: this mask IS NOT suitable for glasses wearers due to the seal of the mask around the face. If a wearer requires eye and respiratory protection and wears glasses then they will need to use a powered hood respirator.

Powered hood respirator

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These systems use a battery pack to supply clean air, drawn through appropriate filters, to the users breathing zone via a hose and into a loose fitting hood. These are suitable for staff who require a higher level of respiratory protection than a full or half mask can provide, or any staff who cannot wear a full or half mask. These include staff with facial hair, or who have not been able to be facefit tested with a tight fitting full or half mask.

Please note, these types of full face masks are not suitable for oxygen depleted areas. Only air-powered hoods (breathing apparatus) must be used for those occasions.

For powered respirators the 3M Versaflo TR-300 Powered Air Turbo has been chosen for particulate protection and the 3M Versaflo TR-600 Powered Air Turbo has been chosen for particulate and gas/vapour protection (this replaces the 3M Jupiter Powered Air Turbo system which is due to be discontinued from June 2021).

Powered hoods DO NOT require a face fit test.

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Different filters protect against different substances, the risk assessment must identify which filters are the most suitable. Guidance is available from the Occupational Hygiene Unit as well as during the Facefit process.

Filters have an assumed protection factor (APF) which differs depending upon which type of mask is used. The APF is a nominal protection factor derived during testing in a laboratory and is only indicative of the level of protection afforded by these filters. Filters can be combined to allow protection against more than one type of substance, for example both particulate and organic vapours.

3M have developed an online system which can assist in working out how long a vapour and gas filter can be used for before you need to change it. However, you will need to know the exposure level (in parts per million or mg/m3) of the hazardous substances during your use of the mask and filters to use the system. This online system can be found at www.3M.co.uk/filterservicelife.

• 'EH40/2005 Workplace Exposure Limits (Second Edition, Published 2011)' contains the list of WELs related to the COSHH Regulations 2002, ISBN 978 0 7176 6446 7, £15.00.
• 'Respiratory Protective Equipment at Work - A Practical Guide (HSG53 Fourth Edition, Published 2013)' contains guidance on the selection and use of adequate and suitable RPE in the workplace, ISBN 978 0 7176 6454 2, £15.00.

• All masks should be cleaned after each use, as well as more thoroughly after long term use.
• All masks should be examined on a regular basis.
• Thorough maintenance should be carried out at least once a month - records of the this should be logged and kept for 5 years.
• Maintenance logs should be used for half-face, full-face and powered respirators.

Guidance documents

3M Masks - Maintenance of Respirators (PDF)

Sundstrom Masks - Maintenance of Respirators (PDF)

Buying Masks and Filters (PDF)

Maintenance Logs

Maintenance Log (Excel)

HSE website - RPE guidance

RPE Selector from Healthy Working Lives