HSE publishes revised guidance on the correct selection and safe use of RPE

HSE press release E064:05 - 10 May 2005

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published extensively revised and updated guidance covering the correct and safe use of respiratory protective equipment (RPE).

Respiratory Protective Equipment at Work: A Practical Guide provides employers, safety reps and manufacturers who use or supply RPE with advice on ensuring it is selected and used correctly, as required by law. RPE is a type of personal protective equipment designed to protect the wearer against inhalation of potentially hazardous substances in workplace air.

The booklet features a new 'RPE Selector' tool, which takes the user through a simple step-by-step questionnaire to allow them to decide when it is appropriate to use RPE and to select the correct level of protection, such as filter types, required for a given hazardous substance. For ease of use, the booklet contains illustrated examples to ensure the most comfortable RPE design for each individual wearer and the environment they work in is worn. In addition, the book describes examples of significant misuse of RPE, and how to prevent it. It also includes tips and advice on ensuring RPE is adequately maintained so that it continues to work safely.

Dr Bob Rajan, HSE Chemical Risk Assessment and Control Group, commented: "Every year, UK industry spends around £250 million on RPE, but a sizeable portion of this money is wasted because the equipment selected is not right for the job or used wrongly. This can result in RPE wearers being exposed to avoidable hazards to their health or even life. Chronic ill health, respiratory sensitisation, and - particularly in confined spaces - deaths have all occurred because employers have failed to provide RPE matched to the risks, the work environment and the user."

Notes to editors

• The original version of the guidance published in 1998 followed a conventional RPE selection approach, which relied on knowledge of occupational exposure levels (OELs) and the protection levels assigned to different types of RPE. However, findings from HSE research suggested that industry's perception, knowledge and understanding of occupational exposure limits was limited and that they played little part in workplace risk management. The same research found that the use of personal protective equipment featured highly as a control measure.

• HSE's new approach to selecting RPE extends the "risk-banding" approach which has already been introduced in the UK for helping to control exposure to chemical agents at source. For further information see COSHH Essentials at: www.coshh-essentials.org.uk This approach uses Hazard Risk Phrases (R-phrases), combined with potential for exposure based on the amount of substance used, and its volatility. The R-phrase is already well established in Europe for classification and labelling of hazardous substances.

• The 'RPE Selector' is a questionnaire, allowing the user, either by themselves or in conjunction with RPE suppliers, to identify the types of RPE capable of providing the right level of protection, and then to begin selecting a suitable design for their application and wearer. It also acts as a written record of the process.

• The law governing the use of RPE is contained in five separate pieces of regulation, including The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations and The Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations. The regulations make specific requirements for the correct use of RPE at work. It must:

• be adequate and provide the wearer with effective protection;
• be suitable for the intended use;
• be 'CE'-marked;
• be selected, used and maintained by properly trained people;
• be correctly maintained, examined and tested; and
• be correctly stored.

Copies of Respiratory Protective Equipment at Work: A Practical Guide , HSG53, ISBN 0 7176 2904 X, price £ 10.95 , are available from HSE Books.

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