• E-mail
• Print
• RSS

OSHA seeks comments on stockpiling respirators for pandemic

Emergency Management Alert, May 20, 2008

OSHA released a draft guidance on stockpiling respirators and facemasks during an influenza pandemic. The agency is seeking public comment before publishing Guidance on Workplace Stockpiling of Respirators and Facemasks for Pandemic Influenza, reports the May 9 Federal Register.

The proposed guidance will provide employers with information about the types of respirators, their advantages and disadvantages, approximate costs, and how large an inventory to acquire. Among the highlights of the draft guidance:

• OSHA estimates that 33% of hospital employees will have very high or high exposure risks during a pandemic, and as a result facilities will need to provide four N-95 respirators per employee per work shift. OSHA estimates a typical hospital employee facing exposure will need 480 N-95s over the course of a community pandemic.
• Strictly from the perspective of purchasing costs, it may be cheaper to equip workers with reusable elastomeric respirators rather than N-95s or powered air-purifying respirators. Elastomeric respirators have flexible, rubber-like facepieces with either permanent or removable filter cartridges.
• Hospitals should stock two facemasks per day for each inpatient who shows flu symptoms during a pandemic, and three facemasks per day for each essential visitor (e.g., parents of pediatric patients).

The document and instructions for commenting on it are available on the OSHA Web site at www.osha.gov, according to the Federal Register. The comment period closes July 8.

• Comment
• E-mail to a Colleague
• Print
• RSS
• Archive

Comments