A Simple Air Monitoring Plan

for Respirator Selection & Use

C.R. Manning, PhD, CIH, FAIHA

Chief Technical Officer
M.D.R. Peralta, PhD
Technical Director
Assay Technology operates accredited testing labs and
manufactures personal monitoring badges
 Respirators Reduce Exposure
but Don’t Remove All Contaminants

Air Supplied
Respirators
Immediately Dangerous
To Life and Health APR Use
Prohibited for
e Concns > IDLH
IDLH
Contaminant
Concentration

Potentially Harmful
Requires Action
Air
PEL Purifying
Respirator
No Harm During
Entire Working Life
Zero
 What is Happening when
you wear an Air Purifying Respirator

EXTERNAL
Contaminant Level
Above PEL
A
Air Purifying Respirator P Reduces Contaminant Level
R by a Protection Factor (APF)

BREATHING ZONE
Contaminant Level
Below PEL

APR = Air Purifying Respirator; APF = Assigned Protection Factor

IDLH = immediately dangerous to life & health; PEL = OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit
 Assigned Protection Factor
(assigned by OSHA)

APF = Co / Ci = 10, 25, 50, 1000, etc.

Co = Concentration Outside Mask

Ci = Contaminant Concentration Inside Mask

A Protection Factor is an estimated contaminant Reduction Factor

assigned by OSHA as a “worst case”.

It is the ratio of the contaminant level outside the mask,

compared to the contaminant level inside the mask.
 Respirator Selection
(OSHA Rules)

Maximum Use Concentration (MUC)

MUC = PEL x APF
Where:
PEL = OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (ppm)
APF = Assigned Protection Factor

Except:
MUC can never exceed the NIOSH IDLH (in ppm)
IDLH = Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health
 Respirators You Can Use

Respirator Type APF MUC

Half Mask APR 10 < 10 x PEL

PAPR 25 < 25 x PEL
Full Face Piece APR 50 < 50 x PEL
Air Supplied Respirator 1000 < 1000 x PEL

APR = Air Purifying Respirator; APF = Assigned Protection Factor

PAPR = Powered Air Purifying Respirator PEL = OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit
 Performance and Cost

Respirator Type APF Cost/Emp/Mo

Half Mask APR 10 $450

PAPR 25 $3,000
Full Face Piece APR 50 $ 500
Air Supplied Respirator 1000 $5,000

APR = Air Purifying Respirator; APF = Assigned Protection Factor

PAPR = Powered Air Purifying Respirator PEL = OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit
 Maximum Use Concentrations
for Several Respirators & Solvents
Maximum Use Conc'n
(MUC) in ppm

2-Butanone
Factor (APF)
Protection

Benzene
Assigned

Xylene
Exposure Limit (PEL) (ppm) 1 200 100
Half-Mask APR 10 10 2,000 1,000
PAPR 25 25 5,000 2,500
Full-Face Piece Mask APR 50 50 10,000 5,000
Air Supplied Respirator 1000 1,000 200,000 100,000

APR = Air Purifying Respirator

MUC = APR x PEL
Air Monitors & Respirators
are closely connected

Air Purifying Respirators

– Reduce Air Contaminants
by a REDUCTION FACTOR

Air Monitors
– Identify Air Contaminants
Measure Contaminant Levels
 Exposure Assessment
(required by OSHA)

Can Tell You 2 Things

– Which Respirator you May Use
– How Long you May Wear it

Exposure Assessment Methods

– Air Monitoring
– Math Models
– Guessing
Exposure Assessment Methods
(allowed by OSHA)

Exposure Assessment Methods

– Air Monitoring
– Math Models
– Guessing

In Favor of Air Monitoring

– More Accurate Than Modeling/Guessing
– More Cost-Effective & Convenient
 Part II

Personal Air Monitors

Formaldehyde
& other Aldehydes
120+ Organic Amines, Anesthetics
EtO, Ozone, Acrolein,
Vapors NO2, SO2, NH3, Hg,

The most cost-effective and convenient method

for monitoring workers’ chemical exposure.
Air Monitoring Value Proposition A

Air Monitoring Data

– Tells you which Respirator you may use

– Finding of Lower Contaminant Levels

justifies a less burdensome Respirator
More Cost-Effective & Convenient
Respiratory Protection
 Value Prop A Case 1

Based on a Model, benzene exposure levels in a

facility are estimated at 15-20 ppm.
– The MUC for a Half-Mask APR is only 10 ppm, so a Full-
Face Piece APR or PAPR must be used

Subsequent Air Monitoring determines actual daily

exposure levels of 5 + 3 ppm of benzene
– Half-Mask APR may now be used
 Maximum Use Concentrations
for Several Respirators & Solvents
Maximum Use Conc'n
(MUC) in ppm

2-Butanone
Factor (APF)
Protection

Benzene
Assigned

Xylene
Exposure Limit (PEL) (ppm) 1 200 100
Half-Mask APR 10 10 2,000 1,000
PAPR 25 25 5,000 2,500
Full-Face Piece Mask APR 50 50 10,000 5,000
Air Supplied Respirator 1000 1,000 200,000 100,000

APR = Air Purifying Respirator

MUC = APR x PEL
 Value Prop A Case 2
2-butanone (MEK), an ingredient in ink jet printing,
may be present at high levels where multiple
printers are used. Due to a low odor threshold, its
concentration is often overestimated.
– Due to an exposure overestimate, cumbersome
expensive PAPRs are in routine use.

Air Monitoring establishes that daily exposure

levels near printers are actually 200 + 100 ppm.
– Half-Mask APRs may now be used.
 Maximum Use Concentrations
for Several Respirators & Solvents
Maximum Use Conc'n
(MUC) in ppm

2-Butanone
Factor (APF)
Protection

Benzene
Assigned

Xylene
Exposure Limit (PEL) (ppm) 1 200 100
Half-Mask APR 10 10 2,000 1,000
PAPR 25 25 5,000 2,500
Full-Face Piece Mask APR 50 50 10,000 5,000
Air Supplied Respirator 1000 1,000 200,000 100,000

APR = Air Purifying Respirator

MUC = APR x PEL
 Respirator Change Schedules
(from OSHA web-site)

Respirator cartridges don't last forever!

A change schedule is the part of the written respirator program which
says how often cartridges should be replaced … The service life of a
cartridge depends upon many factors, including environmental
conditions, breathing rate, cartridge filtering capacity, and the
amount of contaminants in the air.
 Service Life Calculators

Available from Mfr On-Line

– You Enter Data
Respirator ID, Temp, %RH, Breathing Rate
Expected Contaminant and Its Concentration

Calculator Predicts Service Life

– Higher Contaminant Level
Shorter Service Life
– Lower Contaminant Level
Longer Service Life
 Effect of Air Concentration
on Predicted Service Life
Predicted Service Life
(hours)

2-Butanone
Benzene

Xylene
TWA Air
Concentration
Exposure Limit (PEL) (ppm) 1 200 100
25 62
75 26 46
100 20 38
250 9.0 9.0 16
500 5.1 5.4 7.9
750 3.6 3.9 5.3

Typical Air Purifying Respirator

e.g.,3M 6001 Org Vapor Cartridge
Air Monitoring Value Proposition B

Air Monitoring Data

– Predicts Respirator Service Life

– Finding Lower Contaminant Levels

Justifies Longer Service Life
Conserving Respiratory Protection
resources.
 Value Prop B Case 1

Using a Model, xylene exposure levels in a facility

have been estimated at 500+ ppm
– Based on the 3M Service Life Calculator, a schedule of
changing cartridges each day was adopted.

Air Monitoring establishes that daily exposure levels

are actually within 150 + 50 ppm xylene.
– Schedule can now be modified to change
every other day using 3M Calculator.
 Effect of Air Concentration
on Predicted Service Life
Predicted Service Life
(hours)

2-Butanone
Benzene

Xylene
TWA Air
Concentration
Exposure Limit (PEL) (ppm) 1 200 100
25 62
75 26 46
100 20 38
250 9.0 9.0 16
500 5.1 5.4 7.9
750 3.6 3.9 5.3

Typical Air Purifying Respirator

e.g.,3M 6001 Org Vapor Cartridge
 Value Prop B Case 2

In a special refinery operation, benzene exposures

have historically been 500 ppm or higher.
– Based on the 3M Calculator, respirator cartridges must
be changed every 4 hours.

After engineering changes are made, subsequent

Air Monitoring demonstrates that daily exposure
levels are actually 100 + 50 ppm of benzene
– Based on the Calculator, respirator
cartridges now need only be changed daily.
 Personal Air Monitors

The most cost-effective and convenient method

for monitoring workers’ chemical exposure.
 Conclusion

Personal Air Monitoring provides a more

scientific approach to using Respirators

– Air Monitoring data can justify selection of a

more cost-effective & convenient respirator.

– Air Monitoring data can justify change

schedules that conserve respiratory
protection resources.
CM1

Finis

Thanks for attending. Feel free to contact

either of us with any questions.

Maria Peralta mperalta@[Link]

Gus Manning gmanning@[Link]

[Link]
Slide 27

CM1 Charles Manning, 5/8/2020