What Do Revised APFs Mean to Industrial Painting Contractors?
The revisions to the Respiratory Protection Standard regulating assigned protection factors (APF) for respiratory protection will clarify OSHA’s requirements. Currently, respirator APFs vary significantly depending on what standard is being enforced. For example, the OSHA Lead in Construction Standard and the Cadmium Standard assign an APF of 25 to Type CE abrasive blasting respirators (e.g., loose-fitting helmet/hood). However, when using the same respirator for arsenic exposures, the APF becomes 2,000. In addition to clarifying respirator APFs, OSHA is also imposing new requirements that affect how the APF of a respirator is determined. Specific changes in the proposed revision that will have the greatest impact include the following: • OSHA will replace respirator APF tables now enforced in various standards (e.g., lead, asbestos, cadmium, arsenic, etc.) with a single APF table. For hazards not specifically regulated (e.g., silica), this table would also apply. Currently, OSHA, in i
