Welcome to the first annual Respiratory Protection Week!
Respiratory Protection Week may be officially over, but the spirit lives on in the educational materials below. It’s not too late to check out these tools and pass them along to other users and educators of respiratory protection. Until next year, stay safe!


Since 2012, NIOSH has recognized September 5 as N95 Day, a day to bring awareness to the importance of respiratory protection, specifically N95s. This year, NIOSH is doing something different. One century ago, the U.S. Department of Mines initiated the first respirator certification program in the U.S. Today, NPPTL carries out research, testing and related activities aimed at protecting workers through PPE. Therefore, as we recognize this important milestone, we are also utilizing this event as an opportunity to expand N95 Day into a more inclusive observance to occur annually the first week of September.
This September 3-6 we are celebrating the first annual Respiratory Protection Week. This year’s observance will recognize the history of respiratory protection as well as the research and standards work that is happening to protect workers both today and in the future.
This page is your one-stop-shop for everything related to Respiratory Protection Week, however we highly encourage you to see what your own organizations are doing to participate in the observance. We have well over two dozen partners who have pledged to take part with their own internal lectures, social media involvement, and educational products. Remember to search #100yrsRespirators while on social media and check out the NIOSH science blog to join the conversation!
Learn more about the long and complex history of respiratory protection by visiting our 100 Years of Respiratory Protection webpage. Not much of a history buff? No problem, we’ve filtered this down to the history highlights in this handy infographic (just in case you are tested on this stuff later !)

In the past, we have been able to utilize N95 Day to share new resources about N95 filtering facepiece respirators and elastomerics with N95 filters. We are excited to expand this year into all types of respiratory protection. But what exactly are all the different types of respiratory protection? This can be a much more complex question than it first appears. To make it as simple as possible, we have created a line of fact sheets and infographics to clear the air. This series began during our N95 Day observance, and we are thrilled to expand it this year now that we have broadened the observance horizons into a full week of all-inclusive respiratory protection information.
Fact Sheets
Milestones in Respiratory Protection
(NEW!) PDFpdf icon, Imageimage icon
Types of Respiratory Protection (NEW!)
PDFpdf icon, Imageimage icon
What are Atmosphere-Supplying Respirators? (NEW!)
PDFpdf icon, Imageimage icon
What are Air-Purifying Respirators? (2017)
PDFpdf icon, Imageimage icon
Español – PDFpdf icon, imagenimage icon
In addition to figuring out what every type of respirator is, it is equally as important to figure out how they are different. To shine some light on this subject concerning the most popular type of respiratory protection, the N95 filtering facepiece respirator, last year we created a chart to explain the difference between a respirator and a surgical mask. Due to popular demand, we have expanded that chart this year to include elastomeric respirators.
Understanding the Difference (New!)
(surgical masks, N95 FFRs, and Elastomerics)
PDFpdf icon, Imageimage icon
Understanding the Difference (2018)
(surgical masks and N95 FFRs)
PDFpdf icon, Imageimage icon
Check out more infographics on our NPPTL respiratory protection infographics webpage!

PAPRs in Healthcare: Facing Challenges using the Current State of Knowledge
https://niosh-connect.adobeconnect.com/pzx54878nyb1/external icon
Panel of Presenters:
Dr. Christopher Coffey, PhD – NIOSH
Dr. Julie Cahn, DNP, RN, CNOR, CNS-CP – AORN
Maryann Gruden, MSN, CRNP, NP-C, COHN-S/CM – AOHP
Question and Answer Panel:
Dr. Christopher Coffey, PhD – NIOSH
Dr. Julie Cahn, DNP, RN, CNOR, CNS-CP – AORN
Maryann Gruden, MSN, CRNP, NP-C, COHN-S/CM – AOHP
Mary Ogg, MSN, RN, CNOR – AORN
Megan Casey, BBA, BSN, MPH – NIOSH
To kick off our first annual Respiratory Protection Week, as well as celebrate 100 Years of Respiratory Protection, NIOSH is teaming up with presenters from the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) and the Association of Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare (AOHP) to discuss current state of knowledge of Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR) use in healthcare, specifically touching on challenges and issues for use in the OR.
The webinar will include 3 presentations and then open up for a question and answer panel discussion. Attendees will only have listening capability, therefore the Q&A section will be conducted via question and answer pods and read aloud by our moderator.
This activity has been submitted to the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses, Inc. for approval to award contact hours. The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses, Inc. is accredited as an approver of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
Activities that are approved by AORN are recognized as continuing education for registered nurses. This recognition does not imply that AORN or the ANCC Commission on Accreditation approves or endorses any product included in the presentation.
Respiratory Protection Advancements and Potential Options for Firefighters
https://niosh-connect.adobeconnect.com/pcuvq5rscwao/external icon
Panel of Presenters:
Jon Szalajda – NIOSH
Stephanie Griffin, PhD, CIH
Dylan Staack, MPH
Jeff Burgess, MD, MS, MPH, University of Arizona
NIOSH NPPTL employees and a few of our prevalent colleagues are using this opportunity to share the status of current research endeavors in the field of respiratory protection. These are pre-recorded poster sessions, so please feel free to peruse through the abstracts and click the links to view a short presentation about each of the posters.


You will find additional information sources via social media, using #100yrsRespirators on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. We invite you to join to conversation, pass on valuable information, and have a little bit of fun with us along the way!
Don’t forget to check out this year’s Respiratory Protection Week, 100 Years of Respiratory Protection, NIOSH science blog where you can comment about your own involvement with respiratory protection. We’d love to hear from you!
Additional articles by NIOSH authors:
Celebrating 100 Years of Ensuring Respiratory Protection for American Workersexternal icon – Read more about the important role of the NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory on the National Safety Council Safety First blog.
The Respirator Fit Capability Test: Enhancing the Efficacy of Filtering Facepiece Respiratorsexternal icon – The Synergist and NIOSH present this digital supplement to the September issue, which discusses the development of a new voluntary standard for ensuring the proper fitting of respirators.
We want to acknowledge and thank all the organizations that supported Respiratory Protection Week. Below is the beginning of the list of our supporters. Did your organization recognize Respiratory Protection Week? Let us know so we can share!
- CoatingsPro Magazineexternal icon
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC)pdf iconexternal icon
- AOHP Recognized 100 years of Respiratory Approval at their Annual Conferenceexternal icon
- Sunnewsreport.com
- American Association of Safety Professionals
- AIHA Pittsburgh Section
- PPE101
- J. J. Keller
- Industrial Safety & Hygiene News
- International Society of Respiratory Protection.
- AIHA
- Occupational Health and Safety
- FireRescue1
- Safety+Health Official Magazine of the NSC Congress & Expo
- Lawyers.com
- National Safety Council
- Environmental Resource Center
- Safetycontroltech.com
- Workerscompensation.com
- NETEC
- RPB Safety
- Firefighterclosecalls.com
- OhioBWC