The Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires employers to train workers regarding how to use personal protective equipment appropriately and can issue significant fines if employers do not take this important step, according to www.constructiondive.com. Those in the construction industry are used to seeing packaging with instructions about how to use respirators and other face coverings.
However, for the various types of fabric face coverings contractors have been buying and wearing amid the COVID-19 crisis, accompanying advice regarding how to wear them and how well they protect the wearer varies.
As a result, the PPE industry, led by safety standard organization ASTM International, is working on a standard that would specify design and performance criteria for reusable masks. The group was established in July and aims to set requirements for the general construction of masks; how the mask is secured to and stays affixed to the user’s head; how well masks filter out bacterial and solid particulates; inhalation and exhalation breathing resistances; size and fit testing; and affixing and removing masks, sizing, cleaning and recommended period of use.
The group also is working to establish how much of this information would be displayed on mask packaging. The standard would not supplant current mask requirements for health care workers or OSHA industry standards.
