Respiratory Protection Program
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a Final Rule on respiratory protection (29 CFR 1910.134) on January 8, 1998. LSU's Respiratory Protection Program has been written to comply with the OSHA regulation.
LSU EHS maintains the campus respiratory protection program. If you think you need a respirator to do your work/research safely, please contact Phillip Bellan at pbellan1@lsu.edu for a consultation on respirator selection, fit testing, and training before respirator use. If your work has changed EHS is pleased to update any previous consultations.
Training for various types of respiratory protection can be found through the EHSA online training portal: https://lsu.edu/ehs/training/ehs-assistant.php Training, medical exams, and fit testing must take place before respirator use and be refreshed annually.
Faculty, staff, and students must all comply with the campus respiratory protection standards even if you are using the respiratory protection voluntarily or for comfort purposes.
Other responsible partners in the respiratory protection program include:
Deans, Directors, Department Chairs, Principal Investigators, Managers and Supervisors who should assist EHS by helping ensure all employees in the respirator protection program are staying current on annual training, medical exams, and fit testing. These supervisors should also help ensure that respirators are worn, cleaned, stored, and maintained in accordance with EHS protocols.
Employees are responsible for following the respiratory program and putting the information provided in respiratory training into practice. As the user of the program, they should also inform EHS if the work they are doing changes, if they need additional respiratory protection, or other modification. Employees should also ensure they stay current on annual training, medical exams, and fit testing. If an employee’s medical situation changes during the year, they are required to inform EHS and request a new medical exam for clearance to continue use of the respirator. Finally, employees are tasked with proper use, cleaning, storage, and maintenance of their respirator. They should also inform their supervisor anytime their respirator is not fit for service for any reason.