Category: Personal Protective Equipment

Yesterday, we presented PPE essentials 1 and 2 for compliance with OSHA’s PPE standards. Today, we conclude with essentials 3 and 4, and a review of a BLR product that covers PPE from head to toe.  (As a reminder, PPE essential 1 is hazard analysis and essential 2 is equipment selection.) PPE Essential 3. Employee […]

Your PPE program should be reviewed periodically to make sure it still meets your needs as well as OSHA requirements. When you review, look for the four essentials described in the Advisor today and tomorrow. OSHA requires the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) to reduce employee exposure to hazards when engineering and administrative controls […]

Hand injuries can be especially traumatic, stripping away not only an employee’s ability to work, but also the ability to perform activities of daily living. Yet, workplace hand protection often doesn’t get the attention it deserves. OSHA’s hand protection standard (29 CFR 1910.138) is short and sweet: 1910.138(a) General requirements. Employers shall select and require […]

Yesterday, we talked about selecting respirators, fitting them to employees’ faces, and performing seal checks. Today, we’ll cover fit-testing, inspection, and maintenance, and we’ll tell you about a respirator training program that puts it all together for your workers. OSHA says that all respirators that rely on a mask-to-face seal must be checked with either […]

Because of the potentially serious health effects of airborne contaminants and other hazards, OSHA’s respiratory protection standard (29 CFR 1910.134) establishes rigorous requirements for the safe use of respirators. Respirators protect workers from a host of workplace hazards, including insufficient oxygen, and harmful dust, fog, smoke, mists, gases, vapors, and sprays. Without this essential PPE, […]

Yesterday, we talked about the use of face masks and respirators to protect against H1N1 exposure. Today, we expand our discussion to include the use of respiratory protection in general, as well as other types of personal protective equipment (PPE) designed to protect against an array of workplace hazards. Respiratory protection is an important part […]

Are face masks or respirators really necessary to protect against H1N1 at work, on the street, or at home? That’s the question on the minds of a lot of people these days. See what CDC recommends. If you’ve been wondering about whether to use a face mask or a respirator to protect against the H1N1 […]

Approximately 30 million Americans are exposed to high noise levels on the job. Long-term exposure to high noise levels can cause permanent hearing loss. That’s why OSHA requires employers to provide training and hearing protection when employees are exposed to harmful noise levels. Too much noise can affect employees’ safety and health. We know that […]

If you’ve got noisy work areas, you’ve probably also got questions about hearing protection and OSHA requirements. The experts at Safety.BLR.com® have been fielding these questions for years. Here is a sampling that may be helpful for your workplace.   (NOTE: To get all the details of OSHA’s hearing protection requirements, refer to the Occupational […]

PPE provides head-to-toe protection for your employees and keeps them safe from physical and health hazards when engineering and administrative controls alone can’t do the job. As the general PPE safety meeting in BLR’s OSHA Training System explains, personal protective equipment (PPE) is one of the most effective ways to protect against job hazards. PPE […]