On the job site, you always want to protect yourself and your team. The choice between disposable filtering facepiece respirators and reusable cartridge respirators relates to your exposure assessment and what kind of protection you need. Therefore, check for exposure hazards before you start a job.
Respirators: Disposable or Reusable?
Disposable
- When you hear the term “disposable respirator,” think protection against particle exposures, not chemical exposures. For example, some disposable respirators do offer a layer of carbon in the media to help reduce exposure to some odors, but it’s not enough carbon to deal with chemical exposures that are exceeding OSHA’s Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs).
- Disposable respirators tend to be more comfortable than their reusable counterparts because of their lighter construction. Also, they cost less. Require no maintenance. Just throw away afterwards.
Reusable
- When you’re dealing with chemical exposures that exceed OSHA’s Permissible Exposure limits (PELs), select a reusable respirator with the appropriate chemical cartridge.
- Reusable respirators are versatile since they offer the option of choosing a particle filter or chemical cartridge. Also, chemical cartridges contain activated carbon to help reduce exposure to a variety of different chemical types, depending on the NIOSH approval rating.
- The carbon inside the cartridges is treated for different chemical types. Because of the many different chemicals you may be exposed to, there are a variety of chemical cartridge options designed for specific applications. They are color coded to help with selection (see chart below).
- Some cartridges allow you to add a particulate prefilter, so you can help filter out both particulates and gases/vapors. Also, reusable respirators have the option of using particulate filters only which can attach to the reusable facepiece directly.
- Reusable respirators require regular maintenance and cleaning and have a higher initial cost than disposables. In addition, reusable respirators save money in the long run. You can reuse the cartridges and replace the filters.
- When properly fit and sealed to the face, a disposable respirator and a half facepiece reusable respirator offer the same level of protection for the worker. Therefore, OSHA has assigned them both a protection factor of 10. This means they protect against particulate contaminant concentrations up to 10 times the occupational exposure limit.
Common Cartridge Color Designations
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