Submitted by zsreport t3_z7bwjz in washingtondc
ahabswhale t1_iy62lrl wrote
Reply to comment by that-gostof-de-past in D.C. Firefighters And Paramedics Sue City Over Policy Banning Beards by zsreport
>I’m sure there are a bunch of available masks that will seal with a beard .
That would be a poor assumption.
https://www.examinetics.com/facial-hair-and-the-osha-respiratory-protection-standard/
>The Respiratory Protection standard specifically provides that
firefighters entering an immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH)
atmosphere must wear a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). The
section of the respirator standard that applies, 29 CFR
1910.134(g)(1)(i)(A), requires employers to prohibit respirators with
tight-fitting facepieces to be worn by employees who have facial hair
that comes between the sealing surface of the facepiece and the face.
This regulation does not ban facial hair on respirator users, per se.
However, when a respirator must be worn to protect employees from
airborne contaminants, it has to fit correctly, and this will require
the wearer's face to be clean-shaven where the respirator seals against it.
https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2011-04-01
>3M is in full agreement with OSHA that nothing – be it facial hair or any other condition or article of clothing - should be permitted in the sealing area of a tight-fitting respirator or allowed to interfere with respirator valve function – and that respi-rator fit testing should not be conducted on people for whom this is the case. Furthermore, a medical evaluation to determine a worker’s ability to use a respirator must be completed before being fit tested. Therefore, 3M does not support conducting qualitative or quantitative fit tests on people wearing negative-pressure respira-tors (half and full facepiece air-purifying respirators) or positive-pressure tight-fitting respirators with any facial hair that extends under the respirator seal or interferes with valve function. Further, our use limitation instructions provide that all tight-fitting respirators should not be used with “beards or other facial hair or other conditions that prevent a good seal between the face and the sealing surface of the respirator.”
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