Respirator fit testing is one of the most regulated occupational health requirements by OSHA. As it should be, given the role a respirator plays in protecting the wearer from potentially dangerous inhalants, and maintaining worker safety, which is ultimately the goal of the standard. Violations for respirator fit testing are also among the most frequently cited by OSHA.
Knowing these facts, understanding the two different respirator fit testing methods can help make achieving and maintaining compliance a little bit easier for your organization. Let’s start with quantitative fit testing.
What is Quantitative Fit Testing?
As previously said, there are two types of respirator fit testing methods. Quantitative fit testing, aka QNFT, is one type. Quantitative fit testing determines how good a seal is by measuring how much air leaks into the mask when the respirator is worn. The other fit testing method, called qualitative respirator fit testing (QLFT), checks how good a respirator’s seal is by exposing the wearer to a test agent and determining whether or not they can taste it.
By the nature of the test method, quantitative fit testing has its advantages. Specifically:
- It’s more accurate because it’s a machine measurement vs. a person’s sense of taste (which varies by person)
- It produces a measurable metric called a fit factor
- The test subject can’t cheat the result because it’s not subjective
- It can be faster than qualitative fit testing
When is Quantitative Fit Testing Required?
Per OSHA, quantitative fit testing is the only allowable respirator fit testing method for full-face respirators. Half-face respirators can also be fit tested with the quantitative method. This includes:
- Elastomeric full facepiece respirator
- ASR: atmosphere supplying respirators
- SAR: supplied-air respirators
- SCBA: self-contained breathing apparatus
- Combination SAR/SCBA respirators
- APR: air-purifying respirators
- FFR: filtering facepiece respirator
- EHMR: elastomeric half-mask respirator
- PFR: particulate filtering respirators
- N (not resistant to oil) 95, 99, 100
- R (somewhat resistant to oil) 95, 99, 100
- P (strongly resistant to oil) 95, 99, 100
HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air)
Certain industries are more likely to fall under the requirement of needing to use quantitative fit testing for their respirator fit testing. They are:
- Medical and healthcare
- Energy, oil, and gas
- Military
- Construction
- Manufacturing
- Pharmaceutical
- Chemical manufacturing & handling
Understanding Fit Factor
Quantitative fit testing yields a score called a fit factor. The fit factor is the ratio of the concentration of a challenge agent in the air to the concentration in the breathing zone. Full-face respirators must have a fit factor of 500 or more to be considered compliant. Half-face respirators must have a fit factor of 100 or more.
There’s More to Respirator Fit Testing Compliance
No matter which fit testing method you use, it’s important to know that respirator fit testing must be conducted at least annually to maintain compliance. You should also fit test whenever an employee gains or loses 20 pounds or more, or has any facial or cosmetic changes that could affect respirator fit. Before fit testing someone, they must complete and clear a medical evaluation — we offer online medical evaluations to streamline this process.
There’s also record-keeping requirements. Medical evaluations must be kept for each employee’s tenure plus 30 years. Fit test records need to be stored until the next fit test is issued, so a year. Our Respirator Fit Testing Portal can handle all of this and does more, making compliance management easy and accessible.
Another aspect required for compliance is having a written Respiratory Protection Plan — this blog post breaks down everything you need to include in one.
We’re Here to Help
There’s a lot to navigate with quantitative fit testing specifically, and respirator fit testing in general. We’re experts at it, and can be the expert you rely on to execute it. Even better, we can handle just one aspect of fit testing, say online medical evaluations, or you can pass the entirety of your respirator fit testing needs to us. If that’s something you’re interested in or have questions about, please contact us. We look forward to making respirator fit testing the easiest part of your job.
