eNews: Volume 18, Number 6 (October 2020) | NIOSH | CDC

eNews: Volume 18, Number 6 (October 2020) | NIOSH | CDC

From the Director’s Desk

John Howard, M.D. Director, NIOSH

NIOSH’s Dedication to Ensuring Effective Respiratory Protection

NIOSH’s annual Respiratory Protection Week observance last month was an opportunity for us to recognize all the workers who rely on respiratory protection to keep them safe. NIOSH researchers strive to provide the science necessary to inform difficult respiratory protection decisions. These efforts are not new, although respiratory protection has never been such a trending topic. One example, included in this issue of Enews under Research Rounds, is the NIOSH testing of air-purifying respirators equipped with chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear canisters to ensure that first responders are protected in emergencies.

Last year, we celebrated 100 years of respiratory protection, appreciating both its history and recognizing NIOSH’s role in its evolution. This year, we have been making history, at an unprecedented pace, building upon the knowledge established in the last century.

Typically, NIOSH makes 400 respirator approval decisions per year. As of September 1, we had already made 574 (468 granted, 106 denied) respirator approval decisions, including 64 filtering facepiece respirators and 52 powered air purifying respirators just being brought to market. In addition, NIOSH approved 681 new configurations of elastomeric air purifying respirators with N95 minimum particulate protections.

In response to the increased need for respiratory protection during COVID-19, NIOSH met the challenge to assess unique respirators. Among these are respirators beyond their shelf life or stockpiled, respirators assessed for their ability to remain compliant after decontamination processes, and respirators entering the United States from countries claiming to meet a non-NIOSH standard.

As a result, NIOSH completed a range of assessments:

• 27 respirator models for use beyond their shelf life.
• 1,199 respirators that have undergone a decontamination process, representing 27 respirator models and 13 types of decontamination methods from 32 separate assessments.
• 5,829 international respirators, which equated to 410 completed test requests.

NIOSH pivoted our research portfolio to address research questions of high national importance associated with COVID-19. One topic not on our radar prior to COVID-19 is the use of respirators with exhalation valves. We know these respirators provide the proper respiratory protection, but now we are challenged with questions regarding their applicability as source control devices. Our researchers are working hard to answer these questions and many more.

This has been a busy year. However, we are more dedicated than ever to applying the best scientific approach to determine the most effective respiratory protection practices, to innovate respirator designs, and to maximize the availability of respiratory protection.

To learn more about our respiratory protection work please go to our web page.