OSHA has instilled a variety of requirements for shops that have employees who wear respirators. This applies to any facility that conducts any spray coating operations including painting, priming, or rustproofing. To stay in compliance, make sure that you adhere to the following:

• Have a written program on file detailing your policies and procedures, when to use respirators, and how to use them.

• Annually train your employees on the use and limitations of the respirators that they will be using.

• Obtain medical evaluations for any employee that will be using respirators. This is one of the most frequent respirator violations!

• Certain types of dust masks can also be classified as respirators.

• Even if employees choose to wear respirators voluntarily, it is your responsibility to ensure they are medically evaluated to wear respirators and have been minimally trained on the limitations and use of their respirator.