Hardwood Floors August/September 2019

S P O N S O R E D A D V E R T I S I N G C O N T E N T

A Review of Respiratory Protection in the Wood Flooring Industry

By Jason T. Lunn and Rebecca L. Schumann

The Occupational Safety andHealth Administration (OSHA) has published rules and regulations that aim to protect the health and safety of workers on the jobsite. You can check OSHA requirements in your area by visiting osha.gov. In the wood flooring industry, there are a variety of chemicals used and dusts encountered that may require the use of respiratory protection. In general, respirators are used for the removal of these contaminants from the air. Disposable particulate respirators help filter out certain airborne particles (such as wood dust), and reusable respirators with chemical cartridges help filter out certain chemical gases and vapors (such as finish or adhesive solvents). But, you can’t just throw on a respirator and think you’re good to go. A comprehensive respiratory protection programneeds to be implemented and followed in order to be compliant withOSHA. Respiratory protection programs can be complex though, and there are a number of program requirements that safety of you, the crew, the customer, and their property. Before starting any sand and finish job, certain health and safety precautions need to be taken. This is important for the

need to be managed and executed – which is why a program administrator is needed, and required by OSHA, to oversee the program.This program administrator is responsible for the entire respiratory protection program that a company and its employees need to follow. One component of the program is to evaluate employees to ensure they are medically fit to wear a respirator while working.This is usually done through a medical questionnaire that is reviewed and cleared by a physician. Medical clearance is mandatory when employers require respiratory protection regardless of the type of respirator used. OSHA also requires fit testing when respirator use is required, and the fit test needs to be repeated at least annually for each type of respirator used or if any physical condition changes that could impact fit. Other requirements include proper training on respiratory protection, including how to wear a respirator correctly, how to check the seal and also how to care for and store the respirator. When a respiratory protection program is followed, the programwill also determine the type of respirator needed for the job. Again, full details are available fromOSHA at OSHA.gov. Now that you have a brief overview of OSHA compliance for respiratory protection, let’s take a look at some of the types of respirators out there.

DISPOSABLE PARTICULATE RESPIRATOR

All photos courtesy of 3M

The N95-class respirator is the minimum filtration 3M recommends when working with wood dust. Wood dust becomes a potential health problemwhen wood particles fromprocesses such as sanding and cutting become airborne. One particularly heavy exposure is removing and emptying the hopper from the dust collection system. Keep inmind, having a dust collection systemdoesn’t necessarily mean you don’t need respiratory protection. Also, even if you don’t see any dust, that doesn’t mean there’s nothing hazardous in the air – for instance, workers may be exposed to wood dust particles that are too fine to see. Breathing certain wood particles may cause allergic respiratory symptoms, mucosal and non-allergic respiratory

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