{"id":3727,"date":"2019-06-04T15:43:31","date_gmt":"2019-06-04T19:43:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/maine-farmer-resource-network\/?p=3727"},"modified":"2019-06-04T15:43:31","modified_gmt":"2019-06-04T19:43:31","slug":"respirator-fit-tests-how-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/maine-farmer-resource-network\/2019\/06\/04\/respirator-fit-tests-how-to\/","title":{"rendered":"Respirator Fit Tests: How To"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>New requirements under the Worker Protection Standards (WPS) mandate that all pesticide handlers, who are applying pesticides requiring the use of a respirator, have an OSHA approved respirator fit test. These tests include;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A medical evaluation and questionnaire<\/li>\n<li>A check up with a physician if deemed necessary based on medical history<\/li>\n<li>Training on the proper use of required respirators<\/li>\n<li>Completing the test annually<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Respirator fit tests can be conducted on-farm, however this involves purchasing specialized equipment and working with physicians on the medical evaluations. Many primary care physicians are unfamiliar with this test. See <a href=\"http:\/\/pesticideresources.org\/wps\/hosted\/fit-testing-procedure-appendix-a-437-004-1041.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">full information on Fit Testing Procedures (PDF)<\/a>. 3M also has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.3m.com\/3M\/en_US\/safety-centers-of-expertise-us\/respiratory-protection\/fit-testing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">information and instructional videos on how to do the test<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>A simplified method for obtaining a fit test for you and your handlers is to visit your local occupational health center. An internet search of \u201coccupational health in Maine\u201d should give you a number of options. Be sure to ask if the center offers respirator fit testing. When ready to do the testing, have a number of respirators with you as different respirator types are designed for different face shapes. Facial hair must be removed in order to use a tight-fitting face piece respirator. One alternative for those of us who are attached to our beards is to use a full faced powered air purifying respirator (PAPR).<\/p>\n<p>Contact the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.maine.gov\/dacf\/php\/pesticides\/contact.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Maine Board of Pesticide Control<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/county-offices\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">your local UMaine Extension county office<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New requirements under the Worker Protection Standards (WPS) mandate that all pesticide handlers, who are applying pesticides requiring the use of a respirator, have an OSHA approved respirator fit test. These tests include; A medical evaluation and questionnaire A check up with a physician if deemed necessary based on medical history Training on the proper [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"27","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","spc_primary_category":0},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-announcements"],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":27,"label":"Announcements"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"","author_link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/maine-farmer-resource-network\/author\/"},"comment_info":"","category_info":[{"term_id":27,"name":"Announcements","slug":"announcements","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":27,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":318,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":27,"category_count":318,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Announcements","category_nicename":"announcements","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/maine-farmer-resource-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/maine-farmer-resource-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/maine-farmer-resource-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/maine-farmer-resource-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/maine-farmer-resource-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3727"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/maine-farmer-resource-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3727\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3728,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/maine-farmer-resource-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3727\/revisions\/3728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/maine-farmer-resource-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/maine-farmer-resource-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/maine-farmer-resource-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}