9.2 Respirators, Fit Testing, and Medical Evaluation

40 CFR 171.103(c)(2) treats inhalation as a core exposure route. When the label names a respirator, that respirator is as mandatory as the application rate. 40 CFR 170.507(b)(10) tells the handler employer how to make that instruction real: the respirator specified by the labeling must be used, and before the handler performs any handler activity where the respirator is required, the employer must provide fit testing, respirator training, and a medical evaluation, then keep those records. N.J.A.C. 7:30-12 implements WPS for New Jersey agricultural establishments. Structural, turf, and other commercial firms still face the label as the law and N.J.A.C. 7:30-9.9(c) — supply working safety equipment and train employees in its proper operation. OSHA’s respirator standard, 29 CFR 1910.134, is the technical playbook WPS incorporates by reference.

NIOSH approval, APF, filters, and cartridges

Use only a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-approved respirator. Look for the NIOSH testing and certification (TC) number on the carton and on the respirator. A hardware-store “nuisance dust” mask, a surgical mask, or a cloth face covering is not a NIOSH respirator and does not satisfy a labeled respirator statement.

Read the label’s specifier word for word:

• A particulate filtering facepiece with any N, R, or P filter (an N95 is one example of this class).
• A half-mask elastomeric air-purifying respirator with organic-vapor (OV) cartridges plus any N, R, or P filter.
• A full-facepiece air-purifying respirator with OV/P100 cartridges.
• A powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR).
• Supplied-air or a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA).

Particulate filter codes: N is not resistant to oil, R is oil-resistant for limited use, P is oil-proof. Efficiency is 95, 99, or 100 (100 is 99.97 percent). Many insecticide and herbicide labels allow any N, R, or P filter when the inhalation hazard is dilute spray mist. Oil-containing formulations and oil adjuvants push the selection toward R or P. Do not assume an N95 covers a vapor hazard; vapors need cartridges or canisters, not a particulate filter alone.

Organic-vapor cartridges are the usual vapor-removing choice for many pesticide concentrates. Some fumigants and reactive gases specify a different cartridge, a canister, or SCBA. Combination OV plus P100 cartridges are common when the label wants both vapor and high-efficiency particulate protection.

Assigned Protection Factor (APF) is the workplace level of respiratory protection a properly selected and fitted class of respirator is expected to provide. OSHA publishes APFs in 29 CFR 1910.134 Table I. If the label specifies a class, you use that class — you do not trade down to a weaker APF because “ten is enough.”

A Category 7C fumigant label that requires SCBA during introduction is not satisfied by a full-face OV respirator. A particulate N95 is not an OV cartridge respirator.

When to change filters and cartridges

Filtering facepieces (40 CFR 170.507(d)(6)) are replaced when breathing resistance becomes excessive, when the filter is damaged or torn, according to the manufacturer or the labeling whichever is more frequent, or — if there is no other service-life instruction — at the end of eight hours of cumulative use.

Gas- or vapor-removing canisters or cartridges (170.507(d)(7)) are replaced before further use at the first indication of odor, taste, or irritation; when the maximum use time on an OSHA-conforming change schedule is reached; when breathing resistance becomes excessive; when the manufacturer or labeling requires replacement, whichever is more frequent; or, with no other instruction, at the end of eight hours of cumulative use. Odor breakthrough is a late warning, not a planned change-out method. Build a change schedule; do not wait until the applicator “smells the chemical.”

Medical evaluation, then fit test, then training, then use

The order is not optional. 40 CFR 170.507(b)(10) says the handler employer must ensure the following are met before the handler performs any handler activity where the respirator is required.

Medical evaluation comes first. A physician or other licensed health care professional (PLHCP) evaluates the handler under 29 CFR 1910.134 to confirm the person can physically wear the specified respirator. The usual tool is OSHA’s respirator medical questionnaire, with a follow-up examination if the questionnaire or the PLHCP flags a problem. Wearing a tight-fitting respirator loads the heart and lungs; that is why the evaluation exists. Repeat it when the PLHCP says to, when the handler reports medical signs, or when the workplace, the respirator, or the handler’s health changes. A sports physical or a commercial-driver exam is not automatically a 1910.134 respirator medical evaluation.

Fit testing uses the respirator specified on the pesticide product labeling and must conform to 29 CFR 1910.134. Test the same make, model, style, and size the handler will wear. Methods are qualitative (for example Bitrex, saccharin, isoamyl acetate, or irritant smoke) or quantitative. OSHA requires fit testing at least annually, and again whenever the facepiece make, model, style, or size changes or a physiological change affects the seal — substantial weight change, dental work, facial surgery, or scarring. Passing a fit test two years ago does not cover this season.

Respirator training must conform to 29 CFR 1910.134(k)(1)(i) through (vi): why the respirator is needed, its limitations, how to use it (including emergencies), inspection, maintenance and storage, and medical signs that may limit use. N.J.A.C. 7:30-9.9(c) independently requires New Jersey employers to train employees in the proper operation of safety equipment. A five-minute “here is your mask” is not that training.

Records. The handler employer must maintain for two years, on the establishment, records documenting completion of fit testing, respirator training, and the medical evaluation (170.507(b)(10)). New Jersey agricultural employers under N.J.A.C. 7:30-12 keep those WPS respirator records on the farm or establishment, not in a desk at a different county.

Tight-fitting facepieces need a clean-shaven seal surface. Facial hair that lies between the skin and the sealing surface, or that interferes with valve function, fails OSHA and WPS fit. A beard is not a waiver of a labeled respirator. If the handler cannot shave, the only lawful path is a respirator the label allows that does not depend on a tight face seal — typically a loose-fitting PAPR hood or helmet when that class is specified or permitted.

Seal check versus fit test

A user seal check is done every time the respirator is donned: a negative-pressure and/or positive-pressure check following the manufacturer’s instructions. It confirms the straps are seated today. It is not a fit test. Passing a seal check on a respirator that was never fit-tested, or that was fit-tested more than a year ago, does not satisfy 170.507(b)(10)(i).

Don the respirator with clean hands before opening concentrate. Set the straps; then put on protective eyewear so temple bars do not lift a half-mask seal — or use the full-facepiece that is both respirator and eyewear. Inspect valves, straps, gaskets, and the facepiece for cracks before each day’s use, the same daily inspection 170.507(c)(2) requires of all PPE. A respirator with a missing exhalation valve or a dry-rotted gasket is not “in good working order” under 7:30-9.9(c) even if it was NIOSH-approved when new.

Respirators increase heat stress. 40 CFR 170.507(e) still requires the employer to take appropriate measures to prevent heat-related illness whenever labeling requires PPE.

Worked New Jersey scenarios

Scenario D — stale fit test. A Cumberland County farm handler was fit-tested on the labeled half-mask 18 months ago, has the same beard-free face, and can still pass a seal check. WPS and OSHA still require a new annual fit test before the next handler activity that needs that respirator.

Scenario E — no medical evaluation. A 7A owner hands a new operator an N95 because the aerosol label lists a particulate filtering facepiece, and tells the operator to start dusting a crawl space. There has been no PLHCP medical evaluation. 170.507(b)(10)(iii) is not met; the handler may not perform that activity yet. 7:30-9.9(c) is also in play: the employer must supply the right equipment and train the employee, which includes the respirator program steps the label and WPS trigger.

Scenario F — wrong class. A 7C structural fumigant label requires SCBA during introduction. The crew wears full-face elastomeric respirators with OV canisters. Those respirators have a much lower APF and are not the labeled class. The application is inconsistent with labeling.

Scenario G — records off the establishment. Medical questionnaires and fit-test cards sit at the owner’s house in a different county. WPS requires those records on the establishment for two years. An inspector who asks at the farm is entitled to see them there.