Free «OSHA Compliant Respiratory Protection Program» Essay

Introduction

Owing to the harmful gases and chemicals emitted and used in the Wood products manufacturing company; OSHA compliant respiratory protection program is necessary. The protection program will ensure that safety measures are taken into consideration for the right working conditions of the employees. The use of urea-formaldehyde resin and emission of formaldehyde gas calls for a thorough respiratory protection owing to the harmful nature of the materials. OSHA’s respirator measures define that employers should have and be able to maintain a thorough and efficient protection program for the respiratory system. The employees must put emphasis on respirators to protect them against dangerous incidences that would turn to be hazardous in the work place (Plog, 2002). Each of the respirators made is suited to combat or help in deterring different hazards. Employees have a mandate to put on appropriate respirator as stipulated and captured in the respiratory protection program. The defined program set up requires and emphasizes for program administration, work site specific procedures, employee training, respirator selection, testing of fitness, and evaluation of medical condition. Additionally there should be proper use, cleaning, maintenance and repair of the respirators. With these considerations,  the facility is safe, and workers are under right working conditions.

Training of Employees against the Hazards

Training of employees should be carried out by program administrators as these individuals know enough about the respirators. During training, the employees must be made to realize that the respirators do not remove the hazard. The failure of the respirator over exposes the user to hazardous materials. In order to decrease the chances of the respiratory failures, the system must be ensured that is left fit and be maintained in a tidy and readily serviceable condition. During the training, the employers must be made aware of the limitations and purpose of the respirator (Plog & Quinlan, 2002). The users should not remove or alter the respirator at any given time whether they are feeling uncomfortable. A complete respiratory protection program is ensured in all cases where the OSHA employers require the use of a respirator. It is the mandate of employers to ensure that employees of the Wood manufacturing plant strictly adhere to the operating procedures as this would ensure the safe and proper use of respirators.

Proper respirator selection

A respirator is a protective device that covers the whole face including the mouth and the nose and seeks to guard the user against hazardous environment. For this case,  proper selection of respirator must be maintained for better working states. Respirators are of different forms, and this majorly depends on the atmosphere or working environment. Respirators can be tight fitting or loosely fitting, and they could be air purifying or atmosphere supplying (Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 1998). The respirators that are selected have to be used as per the requirements in the NIOSH certification. The physical properties of urea- formaldehyde resin as well as the formaldehyde gas must be considered. The intoxication level and the degree of the chemical used must form the guiding factors (Rosenthal & Paull, 1985). Air purifying respirators would be appropriate as they would absorb the formaldehyde gas produced. The design of the respirators must have in consideration the time one would take in the area of contamination. With proper selection of respirators, the workers are safe.

Inspection and Taking Care of Respirators

Inspection of respirators after each and every use is necessary to check on wear and tear. The inspection would entail checking how tight the connections are. Special attention should be given to the rubber parts and plastic parts that lose pliability. “The face piece, headband, valves, the connecting tube, fittings, and the filters” must be in proper working condition (Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 1998). The oxygen cylinders must be checked at least once by users to make sure that they are fully charged in accordance to the manufacturer’s manual (Rosenthal & Paull, 1985). The warning devices and the regulator should be monitored to guarantee that they function appropriately. Employers must keep records of inspection dates and findings (Rosenthal & Paull, 1985). The firm often should sterilize and clean the respirators. Washing of the respirators should be done using an appropriate detergent solution and then disinfected in an appropriate sanitizing solution.

Medical Evaluation

The medical evaluation has to be carried out before the employee’s fitness is tested and given the respirator to use in the place of work. The employer is then given the LHCP report detailing the ability of every employee to use a respirator. Healthcare evaluations can always be carried out constantly when the user deems them appropriate. The employers should strive to maintain keen surveillance of manufacturing plant while monitoring the areas of work. The degree of stress in work, changes in procedures of operations, temperature changes, and humidity should be continually assessed (Creely, 2003). This would help sense and prepare for any emergency that may arise given the harmful gases emitted.

Conclusion

With such considerations as the program administration, work site specific procedures, employee training, respirator selection, testing of fitness, evaluation of medical condition, and the usage of the respirator, cleaning, maintenance and repair; Wood Manufacturing plant will easily operate within the right specifications with minimal risk exposure of workers. The formaldehyde gas emitted is extremely hazardous and requires the right measurements to be taken to ensure safety.