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Occupational and Environmental Safety

Respiratory Protection

Overview

Clemson University Respiratory Protection Program provides respirators to protect the health of employees in accordance with OSHA 1910.134. The program includes medical surveillance, training, and fit-testing.

An employee may need a respirator if they work in an environment with insufficient oxygen or where harmful dusts, fogs, smokes, mists, fumes, gases, vapors, or sprays are present.  Respirators have their limitations and are not a substitute for effective administrative, engineering, and work practice controls, such as fume hoods, safe work practices and training.  In some cases, when it is not possible to use these controls to reduce airborne contaminants below their occupational exposure levels, respirator use is essential.

Respiratory Protection Assessment

If you think that you may need a respirator, complete the Respiratory Protection Assessment Request Form below. Occupational and Environmental Safety will review your work practices to determine if respiratory protection is required.

For more information and a detailed description of the process please see the Respirator Process Flow Chart (DOCX).

Step 1: Assessment Request Form

Complete the assessment request form. Occupational and Environmental Safety will review your information and contact you with the next steps.

If Occupational and Environmental Safety determines that your job function will require respiratory protection, you must be enrolled in the Clemson University Medical Surveillance Program.

Step 2: Medical Forms

Download and complete the MSP Enrollment and Respiratory Protection- Medical Clearance forms from the Document Library in SciShield here.  Once completed, forms must be emailed to ClemsonMSP@clemson.edu to be reviewed by the Occupational Health Nurse.

Note that it may take up to ten (10) business days for respirator medical approval.

Step 3: Self Education

Per OSHA 1910.134, all employees must receive training on respirator use and hazards prior to performing any work requiring a respirator. This training can be completed online or in person.

For additional information you can also review our written program.

Step 4: Make an Appointment

FIT Testing: Once medical clearance and training have been completed, send a request to Tanner Finney (finney3@clemson.edu) to schedule an appointment. Fit Testing must be completed prior to performing work which requires respiratory protection.

Additional Information

Different hazards require different respirators, and employees are responsible for wearing the appropriate respirator and complying with the Clemson Respiratory Protection Program.  A respirator is a protective device that covers the nose and mouth or the entire face or head to guard the wearer against hazardous atmospheres. This includes:

  • Filtering Facepiece respirators such as dust masks or particle masks
  • Tight-fitting half face respirators with fixed or removable cartridges
  • Full facepiece respirators with cartridges
  • Powered Air Purifying Respirators (PAPRs) including both loose-fitting hoods and tight fitting helmets
  • Atmosphere-supplying respirators including airline respirators and Self Contained Breathing Apparatus(SCBA).

If your job does not require the use of a respirator but you want to use a dust mask for comfort reasons, please complete the below form and send to Tanner Finney (finney3@clemson.edu)