PPE Selection: Finding the right type of respirator

Airborne contaminants, from fine dust and mists to harmful gases and vapours, pose a significant threat to you and your employees' long-term health, leading to a range of respiratory illnesses.

Ensuring that you get clean air for your workshop employees is therefore vital in any industrial setting, and this is why respirator protection is so important as part of your PPE selection.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) mandates in the UK that employers protect their employees from respiratory hazards under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations.

• This will then involve you conducting a thorough risk assessment to identify the specific airborne contaminants in your workplace and their concentration levels.
• As there is never a one-size-fits-all approach here, this needs to be done before buying the products you need to make sure the ones you buy are fit for purpose as required, with RPE being the last line of defence here after your other measures to eliminate or control the hazard at its source have been exhausted.
• For more on helping you to understand your legal obligations and other regulations that cover RPE, read this article.

Common respiratory hazards include:

• Particulates (from dust, fumes, mists, and fibres from activities like grinding, welding, cutting, and handling of fine powders).
• Gases and vapours (from numerous sources, such as solvents, paints, cleaning agents, and chemical by-products).
• Oxygen-deficient atmospheres (from confined spaces where oxygen levels may be dangerously low).

When selecting a respirator, it’s important to know the different types available and the purposes of each. 

RPE is broadly categorised into two main types:

• Respirator devices work by filtering contaminants from the air as you breathe.
• These use filters to prevent airborne particles from reaching the employee’s nose and lungs. 
• They are suitable for environments where there is a sufficient oxygen level (at least 19.5%).
• They can feature many different types of products, each of which is suitable for different tasks.

• This type of equipment then provides a supply of clean, breathing air from an independent source (such as outside air).
• This is essential for working in oxygen-deficient atmospheres or where contaminant levels are very high.
• This type of PPE tends to be based around Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA), with the wearer carrying a cylinder of compressed air, providing complete independence from the surrounding atmosphere.

Within the above two subcategories, a respirator can be classified as tight-fitting or loose-fitting.

• A tight-fitting respirator creates a seal around the user’s nose and mouth, or around the entire face.
• A loose-fitting respirator is designed so that it does not depend on a tight seal to protect the user.

A tight-fitting respirator can only provide its stated protection level if it forms a complete seal with the wearer's face. As faces come in all shapes and sizes, a "one-size-fits-all" approach is not acceptable here.

Now that we understand more about the two different types of respiratory protection, we can take a deeper look at the different product types that sit within each – which will help you to understand best fit for your job.

Disposable Masks are lightweight and convenient for protection against dust and other particles. As a result, they are classified according to their filtering efficiency under the European Standard EN 149:2001+A1:2009:

Half and Full-Face Masks, are then reusable masks that will tend to provide you with a better seal to the face and are used with replaceable filters.

As a result, here you can tend to see standards such as:

These powered respirator systems then use a battery-powered fan to draw air through a filter and deliver it to a hardtop, hood, or facepiece for instance.

As a result, they are ideal for long-duration tasks as they reduce breathing resistance and offer a higher level of protection (APF of up to 40).

Here, the wearer carries a cylinder of compressed air, providing complete independence from the surrounding atmosphere.

Wiht airline systems, the air is then supplied from a compressor or cylinder bank through a hose to the wearer's facepiece.

The effectiveness of reusable respirators really does depend on selecting the correct filter or cartridge for the specific hazard at hand as well.

Here, for instance, filters are colour-coded as well to help you understand which one you need for your risk assessments and application use.

For instance, according to the type of contaminant they protect against under EN 14387, you can tend to see:

Tip: Combination filters are also available to protect against multiple types of contaminants as well.

To ensure that your respiratory protection remains effective, proper maintenance is essential. When maintaining your equipment, you should always follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

This is especially relevant when it comes to:

• Filter replacement (adhere to the recommended replacement schedule).
• Cleaning and disinfection (especially relevant when using re-usable masks).
• Storage (keep your RPE in a clean, dry place, away from contaminants).
• Inspection (Regularly check for signs of wear and tear).

The information provided above, and the pages linked to, should do a good job at explaining this space and what you need to be concerned about.

We obviously cannot in one article cover all application uses and areas for your individual applications.

As a result, if you are not 100% confident, please contact a trained professional for your exact field, or give our very helpful customer service team a call, as we are also on hand to answer any questions you may personally have, as we may be able to help you further here if you still have questions or you are unsure.

However, all information provided above and in the linked articles should be superseded by what information is in your own personal and individual risk assessments as well as your RAMs.