OVERVIEW
Every year in the UK, thousands of workers develop serious and often fatal lung diseases because of the air they breathed at work. Conditions such as occupational asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), silicosis, asbestos-related disease and lung cancer can take years or even decades to appear, but their causes are present in workplaces today — in the dust from cutting stone or concrete, the fine particles of wood dust, the fumes from welding, the mists from spraying, and the vapours from solvents and paints. Respiratory protective equipment, or RPE, is one of the ways workers are protected from breathing in these hazardous substances, and using it correctly can be the difference between a long, healthy life and a disabling illness.
The course covers the types of airborne hazard (dust, fume, mist, gas, vapour, biological agents), RPE as the last resort in the hierarchy of control, the COSHH duty, the difference between respirators and breathing apparatus, common respirator types, FFP ratings and the Assigned Protection Factor, what 'adequate and suitable' means, face-fit testing (qualitative and quantitative), pre-use checks, cleaning, storage and maintenance, and record-keeping requirements.
