The City of Toronto is committed to providing and maintaining a healthy and safe working environment by implementing the hierarchy of controls: by elimination or by substitution of a product with one of a lesser toxicity, implementing engineering controls, using administrative practices and personal protective equipment.
Whenever work-related exposure to airborne contaminants (e.g. dusts, fumes, mists, bioaerosols, gases, vapours) cannot be controlled by means of elimination/substitution, engineering (e.g. ventilation) or work practice administration, or shut down for repair/ maintenance or in event of an emergency, respiratory protective devices will be used for employee protection. Issuance and use of respiratory protective devices shall be in keeping with requirements of a respiratory protection program.
This policy applies to all City employees who are required to wear a respirator to protect against airborne contaminants to which they may be exposed during the course of their work.
All City of Toronto Divisions with situations in which respiratory protective devices are used for protection against exposure to potentially hazardous environments, such as oxygen-deficiency or airborne contaminants (dusts, fumes, mists, gases, vapours, and bioaerosols) will develop and implement, in consultation with users and Joint Health and Safety Committees (JHSCs), a written Respiratory Protection Program.
The program will be in keeping with the Occupational Health and Safety Act and its associated regulations, including O. Reg. 833 “Control of Exposure to Chemical and Biological Agents”, as well as current accepted industry standards such as the Canadian Standards Association – Z94.4-18 – Selection, Use and Care of Respirators. Program elements will include:
Respirator selection should be appropriate for the task and work location must be based on a hazard assessment that includes worker participation. Approved respirators are only those which are certified by NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety) or by CSA (Canadian Standards Association Group), i.e. CSA Z94.4.1 Performance Standard for Filtering Respirators. Where required and prior to issuing a respirator, a hazard assessment must be performed by a qualified person(s) and to the extent possible, include worker participation, to determine the respiratory hazards present and to assist in the selection of an appropriate respirator. The nature of the respirable hazard must be considered, including, but not limited to:
A Respirable Hazard Assessment Form (Appendix A) can be used to document the assessment components above.
A tight-fitting respirator is a respirator that is designed to form a complete seal with the skin of the face or neck. They include the elastomeric (reusable) half-facepiece and full-facepiece, as well as the single use particulate filtering-facepiece. An Air Purifying Respirator (APR) is a respirator with an air-purifying filter, cartridge, or canister that removes specific contaminants by passing ambient air through the air-purifying element.
A Non-powered APR relies on the breathing action of the user to draw the ambient air through the air purifying element. A seal is required between the edge of facepiece where contact with skin on the face is made and referred to as a tight-fitting respirator. Examples include a single use particulate filtering respirator (e.g., N95, P100) or a re-usable respirator equipped with an air purifying element. A Powered APR (PAPR) uses a blower unit to pull the ambient air with the contaminant through an air-purifying component and then supplies the filtered air into the facepiece. It does not rely on the breathing action of the user. When a PAPR is equipped with a loose fitting facepiece, a seal between the edge of the facepiece and skin of the face is not required.
Fit testing applies to all respirator types with a tight-fitting facepiece.
A Qualitative Fit Test (QLFT) is a pass/fail test method that relies on the subject’s sensory response to detect a challenge agent in order to assess the adequacy of respirator fit.
A Quantitative Fit Test (QNFT) is a test method that uses an instrument to assess the adequacy of respirator fit.
Fit testing must be performed by a Qualified Fit Tester. As per CSA Z94.4-18 “shall be competent in the applicable fit test methods and be able to verify a user’s ability to obtain an effective respirator seal, comfort, and fit for a tight-fitting respirator. The fit tester shall also be able to manage the overall fit testing process, including the transition between sensitivity screening and fit testing where applicable, interpret test results, and document user, respirator, and instrument performance. Fit testers shall follow the requirements of the program and shall not perform a fit test if they observe that the person is not free from interference where the respirator seals to the skin of the face or neck. In such cases, the fit tester shall notify the program administrator.
Tips for fit testers are attached in Appendix B.
Conditions for Respirator Use
Fit test results must be recorded. The Respirator Fit Test Record must include information that conforms to CSA Z94.4.18, including but not limited to:
A process must be established to verify an employee’s fitness to wear a respiratory protective device (i.e. to verify that the employee is free of physiological or psychological conditions that may prevent them from using the respiratory protective device). This process may be achieved by either:
When there is doubt about the fitness or ability of the person to wear a respirator, the employee who is required to use the respirator should seek a medical review.
Divisions may choose to use either the CSA Screening Form (Appendix E) or the City’s Respirator Fit Test Record (Appendix C&D) to document medical fitness to wear a respirator.
When an employee is deemed medically unfit to wear a tight-fitting respirator, attempts should be made to look at appropriate alternative types of respirators that are appropriate for the task. When an employee is unfit to wear any type of respirator, the division should seek assistance with the employee accommodation process, if applicable.
A PAPR equipped with a non-powered tight-fitting facepiece such as a loose-fitting hood is an alternative to a nonpowered APR when clean shaven conditions cannot be achieved due to religious or medical reasons, or when clean shaven conditions can be achieved but needed as means of a medical accommodation. Also, if the nonpowered APR does not afford the protection needed against the airborne concentration of the contaminant, a PAPR may be the appropriate based on the respirable hazard risk assessment. PAPRs have a higher assigned protection factor.
When using a tight-fitting respirator, users must be clean-shaven on areas of the face where the face piece seals to the skin. For employees who cannot be clean shaven the division should seek assistance with the employee accommodation process, if applicable.
Prior to using a respirator and at least every two years thereafter an employee must receive training on the use, limitations and care of the respirator, in addition to being fit tested. All records of respirator fit-checks and training will be maintained by the division issuing the respirator. Training may not be required in cases where a review has been conducted confirming that the employee remains qualified to wear a respirator.
Compressed breathing air and air compressors used for supplied air respirators or self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) must comply with the current CSA Standard Z180.1. SCBA cylinders must be inspected externally and internally by a qualified person in accordance with applicable standards and regulations including, but not limited to:
SCBA cylinders must be hydrostatically tested every five years. Other cylinders must be hydrostatically tested at a frequency and in the manner described in CSA B339 and CSA B340.
In situations, tasks or work areas requiring respiratory protection, management will:
Occupational Health and Safety Coordinating Committee, September 2013
City Manager, November 25, 2013
September 28, 2021
June 6, 2024