US Department of Labor (DOL) yesterday released proposed guidance on stockpiling respirators and facemasks in the workplace, which encourages employers to stockpile the items because of the likelihood that they will run short during an influenza pandemic. The proposed guidance lists stockpiling estimates for individual employees in a range of medium- to very high-risk jobs, listing numbers of masks or respirators by work shift and a theoretical pandemic duration (about 120 work days). For example, a retail-store employee might need two masks per shift and 240 for the duration of a pandemic, whereas a nurse in a medical office or clinic classified has high risk might need four N95 respirators per shift and 480 to cover the whole pandemic. Dental professionals are classified as high risk due to performing aerosol generating procedures and recommended to have 960 masks available per employee .
It is important to note that healthcare workers must be first fit-tested for N95 respirators for proper sizing and use.
See: Proposed Guidance on Workplace Stockpiling of Respirators and Facemasks for Pandemic Influenza: http://www.osha.gov/dsg/guidance/stockpiling-facemasks-respirators.html
Ref. Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy Academic Health Center -- University of Minnesota
Please contact safetyDRs at (888) 669 - 8846 x 701 for low cost, on-site, N95 respirator fit-testing.
