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NY recall of respirators tightens focus on PPE, recalls IOM report

Emergency Management Alert, October 23, 2007

When we read this news story about how New York State's Office of Homeland Security recalled 35,000 masks because they fell short of NIOSH's 2005 respirator standards, we were reminded of this excerpt from a report announced last month by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. "Preparing for an Influenza Pandemic: Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Healthcare Workers," is circulating in draft form; the final version should appear in January.

In this era of moving toward preparedness for a pandemic, it is important to examine the level of rigor employed to ensure that all forms of PPE are deemed to be safe and effective medical devices. The varied regulatory, certification, and evaluation requirements for healthcare PPE have largely evolved in a fragmented manner and have not focused on the hazards of exposure to infectious agents. Many federal agencies have a distinct and vital role in ensuring the use of effective PPE, and there is a strong need for a coordinated effort to ensure harmonization of requirements and to focus on the entire process from product design (utilizing evidence-based performance requirements) to use in the workplace.

More on the report here.

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