March 21, 2002 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Use of respirators in the workplace

Respirators had been used by employees in about 10 percent of the private industry workplaces surveyed in late 2001.

[Chart data—TXT]

The term respirator refers to any device designed to provide the wearer with respiratory protection against inhalation of a potentially hazardous atmosphere. Dust masks, full-facepiece respirators, and self-contained breathing apparatuses (where air or oxygen is carried in a tank on the worker's back) are examples of respirators.

In nearly half of the 619,400 establishments where respirators were used, they were used by employees on a voluntary basis only, and, in about 12 percent, they were used only when required because of emergencies.

These data are from a special survey conducted by the BLS Injuries, Illnesses and Fatalities Program for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Find more information on the use of respirators in workplaces in news release USDL 02-141, "Respirator Use and Practices" (TXT) (PDF).

Definitions of voluntary and required respirator use:

• Voluntary use—employee decides to use a respirator (with the employer’s approval) for personal reasons (e.g., allergy, desire to reduce exposure beyond that required by regulation).
  
• Required non-emergency use—respirator use for exposure to known substances, which is required by regulation or by the employer.
  
• Required emergency use—respirator use as a result of an unplanned situation, including escape from or entry into a potentially hazardous environment.