Respirator Trusted-Source Information Page

Section 2: Use of NIOSH-Approved Respirators

Information sources on how to implement the appropriate use of respirators in the workplace. This section also contains a listing of recently revoked approvals as well as related User Notices.

• Respirator Fit Testing
• Respirator Safety
• Respirator User Notices
• Buyer Beware

Respirator Fit Testing

1. What it is fit testing?
   External link: http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/respiratory/fittesting.html
2. Fit Test Procedures
   External link: http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9780
3. OSHA Resporatory Fit Testing video
   External link: https://www.osha.gov/video/respiratory_protection/fittesting.html

Respirator Safety

OSHA Respirator Safety Video (click on link and scroll down page to training)
Respirator Safety. Donning (Putting on) and Doffing (Taking off) and User Seal Checks. U.S. Department of Labor Video, (2009, December 16). This video is available in English and Spanish and is available for downloading.

OSHA Voluntary Use of Respirators video

OSHA Respiratory Protection Training Requirements video

Medical Evaluations for Workers Who Use Respirators video

Respirator User Notices

Respirator User Notices

Buyer Beware

OSHA Counterfeit and Altered Respirators: The Importance of NIOSH Certification video

Misrepresentation of NIOSH Approval

There have been reports of products using promotional materials that infer or cite NIOSH approval.  Some of these products may look very similar to NIOSH-approved respirators.  One example is a product that has taken N95 respirators and added decorative fabric for fashionable effects, therefore voiding the approval (http://www.flufashion.net).  Another example is a surgical mask being advertised as a NIOSH-approved N95 respirator.  NIOSH purchased the product, tested it and found it to have over 80% leakage.  Several instances of packaging that falsely uses terms like “NIOSH approved”, and “NIOSH N95” have been brought to our attention.  Though it is often difficult to be able to tell from first glance if a respirator is truly NIOSH certified, the most reliable marking to look for is the NIOSH TC# printed both on the box as well as the product itself (TC# xxx-xxxx).  The product can be verified by checking the TC number on the NIOSH website.

Example of typical markings on filtering facepiece respirators.

Figure 1 shows a NIOSH-approved filtering facepiece. Figure 2 shows the same type of filtering facepiece with a decorative design. Respirators featuring such designs are not NIOSH-approved.

Figure 1

Figure 2

The earloop masks below have been advertised as N95 NIOSH-approved on eBay and elsewhere on the internet. NIOSH does not approve surgical masks, only respirators. The masks pictured below are not NIOSH-approved.

Figure 3

Figure 4

The masks below are being sold as N95. NPPTL purchased and tested these masks and found them to have over 80% leakage. These masks are not NIOSH-approved.

Figure 5

Figure 6

The box for this product indicates NIOSH approval.  However, NIOSH does not approve surgical masks.

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Revoked Respirator Approvals

Periodically, respirator approvals are revoked either at the request of the approval holder, or revoked by NIOSH for cause. Depending upon the reason for the revocation, a respirator User Notice may be issued. With all revocations, the approval number is no longer listed in the Certified Equipment List (CEL), or on any of the NIOSH web pages that list approved respirators. The table below lists revoked NIOSH approval numbers.

Revoked approvals:

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This site contains documents in PDF format. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to access the file. If you do not have the Acrobat Reader, you may download a free copy from the Adobe Web site.

Related User Notices

Respirator User Notices are issued on a variety of topics related to NIOSH-approved respirators. The notices listed immediately below contain information that may help the user understand important issues related to respirator approval.

August 23, 2010 - Voluntary Stop Sale by Emany Consulting due to Mislabeled Packaging
PDF 36 KB (1 page)

August 23, 2010 - Voluntary Stop Sale by Emany Consulting due to Question Regarding Protection Level
PDF 34 KB (1 page)

January 16, 2009 - NIOSH Respirator Certification
PDF 81.1 KB (1 pages)

May 04, 2007 - Respirator User Notice, Use of Replacement and Spare Parts
PDF 39.2 KB (2 pages)

March 17, 2006 - Respirator User Notice, Meaning of NIOSH Approval
PDF 28 KB (1 page)

Particulate Respirator User Notices

The notices listed below pertain to topics related to particulate respirators:

July 1, 2009 - Revocation of all Respirator Certificates of Approval Issued to Bei Bei Safety
Company, Ltd. (BBE) Effective July 1, 2009 (listed in the chart above in yellow and dated July 1, 2009)
PDF 253 KB (1 page)

June 22, 2009 - Revocation of all Respirator Certificates of Approval Issued to Jiangsu Teyin Nonwoven Fabrics, Ltd. (JTN), effective June 22, 2009 (listed in the chart above in green and dated June 22, 2009)
PDF 26 KB (1 page)

May 5, 2009 - Misleading Representation of the DuraMax PRO EN149 FPP1 Dust Mask NIOSH-Approved N95
PDF 105 KB (3 pages)

December 04, 2008 - NIOSH has Revoked Jiangsu Teyin Nonwoven Fabrics CO., Ltd. - JTN ’s Approval Numbers TC-84A-4404 and TC-84A-4405. This approval was for the MVP-TR1 and MVP-TR2 N95 Filtering Facepieces
PDF 24.9 KB (1 page)

August 21, 2008 - Misleading Representation of the Mainstays Projects RSP2MS Respirator as NIOSH-Approved N95
PDF 614 KB (2 pages)

May 25, 2007 - Respirator User Notice, NIOSH Approval TC-84A-4250 Revoked, Nitta S.A. Corporation's Model 9510-1-N95 Filtering Facepiece
PDF 125 KB (2 pages)

September 28, 2006 - Misleading representation of the Mainstays Projects Respirator as a NIOSH-Approved N95 Respirator
PDF 77 KB (2 pages)

June 30, 2006 - Corrected Respirator User Notice - NIOSH voiding Crew, Inc Certificates of Approval
PDF 25 KB (1 page)

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