At the end of this module, you will be able to:
- Differentiate between an air-supplying respirator and an air-purifying respirator
- Identify situations in which air-supplying respirators are commonly used
- List three types of air-supplying respirators
- List some characteristics of each type of air-supplying respirator
- Describe general requirements for air-supplying respirator medical evaluations, fit tests, and seal checks
- Describe general requirements for air-supplying respirator inspection, maintenance, cleaning, and storage
The following key questions are answered in this module:
What is an air-supplying respirator?
A respirator that provides its wearer with a fresh, breathable source of air that's entirely separate from the surrounding atmosphere.
What are the three basic types of air-supplying respirators?
Self-contained breathing apparatuses, or SCBAs; supplied-air respirators (SARS), also called airline respirators; and combination respirators.
What's a primary difference between air-purifying and air-supplying respirators?
In general terms, air-purifying respirators may be more convenient and easier to walk around with, but they're generally designed to protect against less hazardous environments and they offer no protection in atmospheres that are oxygen deficient. Air-supplying respirators, on the other hand, are more commonly used in more hazardous atmospheres, including oxygen-deficient atmospheres and other IDLH atmospheres.
What should one know before using an air-supplying respirator at work?
The most important thing to know is how to select the respirator to provide proper protection against the hazard (or hazards) in the work atmosphere. In addition, it's important to know all procedures and requirements for respirator selection, medical evaluation, fit testing, inspection, donning, cleaning, maintenance, and storage.
Below is a transcript of the video sample provided for this module:
Air-supplying respirators provide a source of clean, breathable air that's separate from the air surrounding the user. The breathable air comes from a tank or compressor, travels through a hose, and is then delivered to a person using the respirator. The person using an air-supplying respirator may wear a tight fitting mask or a hood to provide protection from the hazardous air in the atmosphere. The decision to use a mask or a hood will be based on the hazards present.
Use the additional resources and links below to learn more about this topic:
- Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) – www.osha.gov
- OSHA Safety and Health Topics - https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/respiratoryprotection/index.html
- OSHA InfoSheets - https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3789info.pdf
- OSHA Compliance Guide - https://www.osha.gov/Publications/3384small-entity-for-respiratory-protection-standard-rev.pdf
- National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) – www.cdc.gov/niosh/
- NIOSH Topics - http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/respirators/default.html
- American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) – www.asse.org
- ASSE American National Standard ANSI Z88.2 - http://www.asse.org/ansi/asse-z88-2-2015-american-national-standard-practices-for-respiratory-protection/