December 1, 2003—The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) announced criteria on October 8, 2003, that it will use under an expedited program to test and certify escape respirators for emergency preparedness in the workplace. This program for the general working population follows earlier NIOSH certification programs for self-contained breathing apparatus and air-purifying respirators used by emergency responders for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) exposures.
Escape respirators, also called escape hoods, are designed to protect users from breathing harmful gases, vapors, fumes, and dusts for a limited amount of time needed to reach fresh air. Self-contained escape respirators include a contained source of breathing air, while air-purifying escape respirators filter out harmful contaminants before the air is breathed.
Escape respirators that pass the full set of tests will be approved by NIOSH, allowing manufacturers to label the approved products as NIOSH-certified against chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) agents in workplace escape emergencies.
NIOSH will post the names and models of certified devices as soon as they are approved. For further information about the certification program, visit NIOSH or call 800/35-NIOSH (1-800-356-4674).
