--- title: What You Don’t Know About Respirators and Probably Would Rather Not Know description: Under the OSHA Lead in Construction Standard, contractors must assume their employees need to use respirators until they prove otherwise image: https://www.shawnmccadden.com/hs-fs/file-15728773-jpg/images/assorted_respirators-wr.jpg --- [![Shawn McCadden](https://www.shawnmccadden.com/hs-fs/hub/81069/file-1539748069.jpg)](https://www.shawnmccadden.com/) # Welcome to RRPedia Your Interactive Resource for EPA RRP Information ## ![RRPedia logo](https://www.shawnmccadden.com/hs-fs/file-1549005086-jpg/images/RRPedia_Logosmall_-wr-1.jpg)Looking for accurate information about the EPA RRP rule? RRPedia has been created by Shawn McCadden to help remodelers and others affected by the New EPA Renovation Repair and Painting Rule.  ## Please read *[RRPedia Use and Contribution Information](https://www.shawnmccadden.com/using-and-contributing-to-rrpedia-/) *before using or contributing to RRPedia.   --- # You Can Browse For RRP Topics By Using The Tags List To The Right ## [What You Don’t Know About Respirators and Probably Would Rather Not Know](https://www.shawnmccadden.com/rrpedia/bid/51269/What-You-Don-t-Know-About-Respirators-and-Probably-Would-Rather-Not-Know) Posted by [Shawn McCadden](https://www.shawnmccadden.com/rrpedia/author/shawn-mccadden) on Thu, Dec 16, 2010 @ 06:00 AM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ## What You Don’t Know About Respirators and Probably Would Rather Not Know On December 2nd I attended an [RRP/OSHA Respiratory and Worker Protection Workshop](https://www.thecontractorcoachingpartnership.com/osha-training-for-rrp-/) put on by [The Contractor Coaching Partnership](https://www.thecontractorcoachingpartnership.com/) and [Safety Trainers](http://www.safetytrainers.com/).   The workshop was really helpful for me.  It helped me tie together some of my open questions and concerns regarding OSHA requirements and compliance as they relate to RRP related work activities for employees. ![Respirators for RRP work](https://www.shawnmccadden.com/hs-fs/file-15728773-jpg/images/assorted_respirators-wr.jpg?width=193&height=192&name=assorted_respirators-wr.jpg)While at the workshop I found one thing the main instructor Darcy Cook of Safety Trainers said to be very important for contractors to be aware of.   Under the OSHA Lead in Construction Standard, contractors must assume their employees will be exposed to lead above OSHA’s established action level requiring the use of respirators until they actually conduct air monitoring testing to prove otherwise. This means that respirators must be worn while doing RRP work until the testing is done and a written respirator plan is put in place that details when a respirator is required and when it is not.   Engineering controls can be used to limit the creation and or spread of lead dust while work is performed.  The requirement to wear the respirator or not all depends on the kind of work being done as well as how the work is performed.  For example; the sanding of painted surfaces.  If dry hand sanding is done, a respirator will definitely be required.   If wet sanding is done a respirator may not be required.  If the sanding is being done using a sander attached to a functioning HEPA Vac that captures all sanding dust, a respirator is probably not required.   The previous sentence is qualified with “may” and “probably not” on purpose.  The only way to know if a respirator is required or not is to monitor the air for lead dust while the work is actually being performed. The chart below is from the EPA Certified Renovator Manual.  The chart shows exposure levels of airborne leaded dust for some common renovation activities.   OSHA’s permissible exposure limit (PEL) for workers is 50 Micrograms per centimeter squared (50 µg/m3).   If exposed over the PEL, workers must wear respirators.  All three activities in the chart exceed the PEL.   ![Airborne leaded dust, OSHA PEL](https://www.shawnmccadden.com/hs-fs/file-16134161-jpg/images/traditional_renovations_create_airborne_leaded_dust-wr.jpg)    ![Respirator fit testing and OSHA Respirator Fit Testing Requirements](https://www.shawnmccadden.com/hs-fs/file-15757570-jpg/images/fit_testing_a_respirator-wr.jpg)So, under OSHA requirements, before allowing them to do RRP related work or even enter a contained work area, employees must first be sent to a physician to be sure they are healthy enough to wear a respirator. Then they must be fit tested by a professional and provided with a properly fitted respirator that protects them from worst case lead exposure scenarios based on the kind of work they do. They must also be trained how to select, use, clean and store a respirator.   And, they must wear the respirator until the air monitoring testing is done to identify when a respirator is required and when it is not depending on how the work is performed and what engineering controls are being used. Although these OSHA requirements are not new, the majority of residential contractors are not aware of them.  Unfortunately, ignorance of the requirements will not be an excuse if OSHA inspects one of your projects and or one of your employees is poisoned by lead.   Perhaps it would have been helpful if EPA had included the above information in the required eight hour certified renovator training when showing the chart above.   [Click here for more information about Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) required for RRP work](https://www.shawnmccadden.com/rrpedia/bid/42043/Personal-Protection-Equipment-Requirements-Under-The-EPA-RRP-Rule) [Click here for more about what you need to know about Respirators when doing EPA RRP work](https://www.shawnmccadden.com/rrpedia/bid/38664/What-do-I-need-to-know-about-Respirators-when-doing-EPA-RRP-work) [Click here for OSHA standards for cleaning a respirator](https://www.shawnmccadden.com/rrpedia/bid/41057/OSHA-standards-for-cleaning-a-respirator-apply-to-EPA-RRP-work) Topics: [Worker Training](https://www.shawnmccadden.com/rrpedia/topic/worker-training), [OSHA Considerations](https://www.shawnmccadden.com/rrpedia/topic/osha-considerations), [Info for Trainers](https://www.shawnmccadden.com/rrpedia/topic/info-for-trainers), [Health Effects of Lead](https://www.shawnmccadden.com/rrpedia/topic/health-effects-of-lead), [Compliance Options](https://www.shawnmccadden.com/rrpedia/topic/compliance-options), [Work Practices](https://www.shawnmccadden.com/rrpedia/topic/work-practices), [Personal Protection](https://www.shawnmccadden.com/rrpedia/topic/personal-protection), [Tools and Supplies](https://www.shawnmccadden.com/rrpedia/topic/tools-and-supplies), [OSHA - EPA Challenges](https://www.shawnmccadden.com/rrpedia/topic/osha-epa-challenges) [![cs-ye-234x16](https://www.shawnmccadden.com/hs-fs/hub/81069/file-1553381212.gif)](http://www.copyscape.com/duplicate-content/) ### Subscribe to RRPedia by Email and get notified about new postings as soon as they happen! ### Are You Documenting Yor Crew's Compliance With The RRP Rule?  [![download free RRP checklist](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/81069/dd6aace9-6cb0-4ad2-a55a-09846d7f5b5e.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/81069/dd6aace9-6cb0-4ad2-a55a-09846d7f5b5e) ### Still Using a Yellow Pad for Your Estimating? 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[Worker Training (15)](https://www.shawnmccadden.com/rrpedia/topic/worker-training) ### I just wanted to say thank you for your efforts to keep us informed.  *"Thank you again for the hundreth time for keeping a vigil on this business nightmare. Your site is one of the best resources we have to stay on level ground"*  **Christian Peter**   *"I am quite impressed with all the confusion out there at Shawn McCadden’s clear and concise voice that continues to help contractors and those involved in this industry truly understand the rule. His efforts should be applauded."*  **Christopher Wagner, LBPFiles**   *"RRPedia is an accurate and contractor friendly interpretation of the very complex and confusing EPA RRP rule"* * * *"Thanks for taking the time to write the blog.  It's about the only place one can go to get some serious info on this dreadful subject"*   *"I would like to begin by thanking Shawn for all of his postings and education that he has been sharing with the remodeling industry. He has personally been extremely helpful in guiding me through various interpretations of the RRP rule, his advice and knowledge are priceless."* **Michael A. Mahoney*** * ### Suggest or Contribute a RRPedia Topic ### Want a Simple Summary of the EPA RRP? #### Shawn McCadden has created an EPA RRP Summary for Remodelers. *"Hi Shawn, **Nice RRP write up on the website.   I've already forwarded a link to it to a number of local builder types."*   #### [Click here to go to the summary.](https://www.shawnmccadden.com/epa-rrp-summary-for-remodelers-by-shawn-mccadden/)  You can also download it if you want your own copy. ### Add this widget to your Web page, blog, or social networking site. A widget is a CDC.gov application that displays the featured content directly on your web page. Click the buttons to see the next tip to prevent lead poisoning.