September 12, 2003—In order to help employers protect their employees from injuries and illnesses resulting from terrorist incidents, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a Safety and Health Information Bulletin for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Escape Respirators. The Bulletin is advisory and informational in nature, creating no new legal obligations.
OSHA explains that a number of US Government departments and agencies have recently purchased and distributed emergency escape masks to employees with the purpose of protecting against CBRN warfare agents. These escape masks have not gone through the NIOSH approval process at this time, and their performance in a CBRN event has not been fully validated. OSHA says it developed this Bulletin not to endorse nor object to the use of these escape masks, but to provide information on them and to encourage employers to provide meaningful training on the use and limitations of these devices.
To assist employers in developing an emergency action plan, OSHA encourages all employers to review the Evacuation Planning Matrix. This tool provides guidance to employers on how to assess a risk of a terrorist-initiated event, and provides notification, shutdown, and isolation procedures; training and equipment guidelines; and information on evacuating, sheltering, and accounting for employees.
