WAC 296-307-598   Voluntary respirator use requirements.       Your responsibility:

     To make sure voluntary use of respirators by employees does not create job safety or health hazards.

     You must:

     Make sure voluntary use of respirators is safe

     WAC 296-307-59805

     Keep voluntary use respirator program records

     WAC 296-307-59810.

     IMPORTANT:

     • Respirator use is NOT voluntary if a respiratory hazard, such as exposure to a substance over the permissible exposure limit (PEL) or hazardous exposure to an airborne biological hazard, is present.

     • To evaluate respiratory hazards in your workplace, see WAC 296-307-624, Respiratory hazards.

     • Some requirements in this section do not apply if only filtering-facepiece respirators are used voluntarily. Some filtering-facepiece respirators are equipped with a sorbent layer for absorbing "nuisance" organic vapors. These can be used for voluntary use, but are not NIOSH certified for protection against hazardous concentrations of organic vapor.



[Statutory Authority: RCW 49.17.010, 49.17.040, 49.17.050, 49.17.060. 05-01-166, § 296-307-598, filed 12/21/04, effective 4/2/05.]