Premium
Medical evaluation for respirator use
Author(s) -
Szeinuk Jaime,
Beckett William S.,
Clark Nancy,
Hailoo Wajdy L.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0274(200001)37:1<142::aid-ajim11>3.0.co;2-k
Subject(s) - respirator , certification , medicine , occupational hygiene , occupational medicine , officer , personal protective equipment , work (physics) , medical emergency , occupational safety and health , intensive care medicine , occupational exposure , engineering , mechanical engineering , management , covid-19 , materials science , disease , pathology , political science , infectious disease (medical specialty) , law , economics , composite material
The purpose of a respirator is to prevent the inhalation of harmful airborne substances or to provide a source of respirable air when breathing in oxygen‐deficient atmospheres. For a physician to recommend the use of respirator, general background information on respiratory‐protective devices is required. The first part of this clinical practice review describes the general aspects of industrial hygiene, respirators and a respirator‐certification program. The second part addresses matters related to medical certification for respirator use. Medical certification for respirators is an important part of the activities of the occupational physician. To determine whether a worker is able to tolerate the added strain of a respiratory protective device is a complex process in which factors such as fitness for work, health of the individual, characteristics of the work itself, and the properties, type, and requirements of the respiratory protective device, have to be considered. Medical certification is of utmost importance for respirator use, and it should be viewed as an element in a comprehensive respiratory protection program. A comprehensive program is the key element in affording the workers' effective respiratory protection once the initial steps of the hierarchy of methods of hazard control have proved insufficient or infeasible. As a result, the need for the industrial hygiene/safety officer, the worker, the employer and the medical professional to work as a team is much more than in any other field of occupational medicine—a necessary requirement for making the right decision. Am. J. Ind. Med. 37:142–157, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.