The purpose of this is to prevent contaminants from breaking through the respirator's sorbent (filtering) cartridge(s), and thereby exposing the wearer. Historically, respirator wearers have relied on the warning properties (e.g., odor, irritation) of a contaminant as a means to determine when it is time for replacing used cartridges. OSHA no longer allows the use of warning properties as the primary basis for changing respirator cartridges. The following factors shall be considered when developing a Respirator Cartridge Change Schedule which is required by OSHA and should be documented in the Respirator Protection Program:
- Contaminants
- Concentration
- Frequency of use (e.g., continuously, intermittently) throughout the shift
- Temperature
- Humidity
- Wearer’s work rate
- The presence of potentially interfering chemicals
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