BURBANK -- The State Compensation Insurance Fund will sponsor a “Respirator Fit-Testing Seminar” for policyholders in Burbank August 23. The seminar is open to State Fund policyholders only. The event is free of charge. It is designed to help policyholders meet Cal/OSHA requirements for safe and effective respirator usage and provide employees with a quantitative fit-test of their respirators.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), an estimated 5 million workers are required to wear respirators in 1.3 million workplaces throughout the U.S. Respirators protect workers against insufficient oxygen environments, harmful dusts, fogs, smokes, mists, gases, vapors, and sprays. These hazards may cause cancer, lung impairment, other diseases, or death.

Cal/OSHA standards require the use of respirators to protect employees from breathing contaminated and/or oxygen-deficient air when engineering controls are not sufficient to reduce respiratory hazards to a level below established exposure limits. In addition, each worker who uses a tight-fitting respirator must know how to perform a user seal check to ensure that an adequate seal is achieved each time the respirator is put on.

The featured speaker at the seminar will be State Fund Certified Industrial Hygienist Bonnie Sander. The seminar will be conducted in two parts, with the second portion of the seminar in both English and Spanish.

The first section of the seminar will provide the latest Cal/OSHA requirements to managers, supervisors, and other Respiratory Protection Program (RPP) administrators. It will focus on the following subjects:

• Medical evaluations and training of employees required to use respirators.
• Procedures for selecting respirators, fit testing, and for proper use of respirators.
• Procedures and schedules for maintaining respirators.
• Procedures for evaluating the effectiveness of the program.
• Requirements for voluntary use of respirators.

The second portion of the session will be conducted in English and Spanish (Spanish translators will be made available) and is intended for employees who wear tight-fitting respirators. A fit-testing using controlled negative pressure (CNP) quantitative fit-testing equipment will be performed on each employee to ensure their respirator provides an adequate facial seal. The training will cover:

• Proper use of respirators.
• Performing seal checks.
• Limitations on respirator use.
• Respirator maintenance and storage.

Prior to the seminar, policyholders are required to provide State Fund with the brand and model of the type of respirator to be fit-tested. State Fund also recommends that at least one other respirator be made available to the employee being fit-tested in case the initial respirator fails the test.

Employees who will be fit-tested must also meet the following requirements:

• Employees must bring their respirator (no dust masks allowed).
• A medical clearance by a physician or other licensed health care professional.
• Each company's written Respiratory Protection Program.
• No hair growth between the skin and the face piece sealing surface.
• During the fit-test, employees must also wear any regularly-worn safety equipment that could interfere with the respirator fit.

The schedule for the seminar will be as follows:

• Part A: 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. – Supervisor Training (English only)

• Part B: 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. – Fit Test Clinic for Employees/Supervisors (Bilingual)

The seminar will be held at State Fund’s Burbank Office, 2400 W. Empire Avenue, Suite 100. To register, please call Cathy Ibarra at (323) 266-5305, or send a fax to her attention at (323) 526-2181. To register via email, please email respiratorsafety@scif.com.

The Burbank seminar is part of a series of educational programs State Compensation Insurance Fund is holding throughout the state in order to help employers create safe workplaces. State Fund has the largest safety and health services program among California workers’ compensation insurance carriers.

Additional seminars in this series of educational programs are also available.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Established by the California Legislature in 1914, San Francisco-based State Compensation Insurance Fund is a self-supporting, nonprofit, fairly competitive public enterprise that provides workers’ compensation insurance coverage at cost to California employers.