CBRN APR NIOSH Approved Respirators

Attention, Emergency Responders: How To Determine If Your Air-Purifying Respirator (APR) Is NIOSH Certified For CBRN Environments

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** Check the Labels**

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is testing and certifying air-purifying respirators (APR) for use by emergency responders in atmospheres that contain chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) respiratory hazards. This page provides information for determining if a given APR is certified by NIOSH for use by emergency responders in a potential CBRN situation. It also provides a list of devices that have been certified by NIOSH for such use.

• Go to List of Certified CBRN APRs
• Go to List of Certified CBRN APERs

NIOSH Update 10/31/05: NIOSH Issues First Two Air-Purifying Escape Respirator Approvals Under Program for Certifying CBRN Respirators

IMPORTANT NOTE:

In response to a CBRN exposure event, emergency first responders should use NIOSH approved CBRN self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) respirators when the types of inhalation hazards and their concentrations are unknown or expected to be high. The CBRN APR full facepiece respirator provides a lower level of protection than the SCBA and its use is generally allowed once conditions are understood and exposures are determined to be at lower levels.

The CBRN APR respirator should not be used in atmospheres where hazard concentrations are immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH), or oxygen deficient (contain less than 19.5% oxygen). If unknown or high levels of hazard are encountered due to a secondary hazard source during normal use, the user should immediately leave the area. NIOSH is currently drafting detailed user guidance for the CBRN APR.

How to Determine If A Given APR Has Been Tested And Certified By NIOSH For Use By Emergency Responders In CBRN Environments

There are three types of labels, which are included with a CBRN APR respirator, a full canister label located on the canister, a matrix-style canister approval label, and a matrix-style respirator approval label. The matrix-style approval labels are part of the users instructions or included as an insert with the packaging. All three labels include TC # and CBRN protection level in addition to other respirator/canister information.

• Look to see if the full canister label is like the one shown in Figure 1. Canister labels will specify the CBRN protection level (CBRN Cap 1, CBRN Cap 2 or CBRN Cap 3).

Figure 1. Sample APR full canister approval label with CBRN Cap 1 protection. This label is located on the canister. View a full-size PDF version of this image.

• If an APR is CBRN-approved by NIOSH, the full canister label will identify the CBRN protection level. If the full canister label does not identify a CBRN protection level, the device is not approved by NIOSH for use by emergency first responders in CBRN environments. The full canister label will specify its part number and if the canister has been approved for use for CBRN protection with an approved CBRN APR facepiece. If the canister label does not specify CBRN protection, it is not certified by NIOSH for use by emergency responders in CBRN environments.
  
  
• Information on an approved configuration is provided through the NIOSH, matrix-style approval labels found in the users instructions for the respirator. See Figures 2-3. User instructions are provided with the respirator by the manufacturer.

Figure 2. Sample matrix-style APR canister approval label with CBRN Cap 1 protection. This label is part of the users instructions or included in the packaging. View a full-size PDF version of this image.

• The approval number for an APR approved for CBRN environments will have a TC-14G prefix (TC-14G-XXXX) and can be found on all three labels.
  
  
• The user instructions manual must be used in conjunction with the matrix-style label to define the approved configuration.
  
  
• The complete APR assembly and subassemblies must be composed only of those component parts listed in the row with the CBRN approval number. Part numbers that are found only in the rows of the non-CBRN approvals must not be used as part of a CBRN APR assembly.
  

Figure 3. Sample matrix-style APR respirator approval label with CBRN Cap 1 protection. This label is part of the users instructions or included in the packaging. View a full-size PDF version of this image.

NIOSH is providing manufacturers’ addresses for informational purposes only. This information does not constitute a commercial endorsement of the products. This information is accurate as of 2/27/2006, but additional models may also be approved.

The devices certified by NIOSH for use by emergency responders in CBRN environments are listed by manufacturer, NIOSH approval number, model, protection, major components and subassemblies. Verify the approved configuration with the user instructions and approval labels.

The following CBRN Air-Purifying Respirators (APR) are approved by NIOSH:

The following CBRN Air-Purifying Escape Respirators (APER) are approved by NIOSH: