The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is ordering a recall of a specific type of N95 respirator and Cal/OSHA is advising employers not to use the respirators if employees cannot pass fit-tests on them.
In October, the state released millions of respirators from its stockpile to local public health departments so that health-care facilities could protect workers from exposure to the H1N1 influenza virus. Fit-tested N95 filtering facepiece respirators are recommended for workers in direct contact with patients with suspected or confirmed cases of H1N1. The recall affects 3M 8000 respirators, which comprise "the majority of the state stockpile, unfortunately," says Deborah Gold, senior safety engineer for the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH). CDPH has asked local health departments to stop providing the respirators to health-care facilities and is developing procedures for the return of remaining supplies.
The 8000 series "has a low success rate in fit-testing," Cal/OSHA says, which is a crucial safety factor because respirators protect people from inhaling infectious particles by sealing to their faces. DOSH says it is not prohibiting use of the 8000s, but it "strongly recommends against using this model for prevention of aerosol-transmitted disease" and urges employers to assure successful fit-tests if they decide to use them. Fit tests must be conducted according to General Industry Safety Orders §5144, Appendix A.
DOSH and CDPH urge employers to use other respirators to protect employees; CDPH will provide other brands and models to local health departments upon request. Even with the recall, California has alternative respirators in its stockpile. Nonetheless, the respirator supply remains under stress, DOSH says, reminding employers to use respirator-conserving procedures. Employers should take whatever steps they can to limit aerosol transmissible disease exposure to employees by appropriate patient identification and placement, source control measures, and using engineering and work practice controls to minimize respirators use.
Employers also can conserve supplies by redonning respirators in some cases. Click here for information on these procedures.
