Filtering Facepiece Respirator Label

Letter to All Respirator Manufacturers

Issue Date: September 03, 2008

From: Jonathan V. Szalajda, Chief, Policy and Standards Development Branch, National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory

Subject: Filtering Facepiece Respirator Label

The purpose of this letter is to clarify the label requirements for NIOSH-approved air-purifying filtering facepiece respirators (FFR). It addresses the certification and use markings required by NIOSH to identify certified FFR classified under Subpart K, non-powered air-purifying particulate respirators, and § 84.33 (a-g) of Title 42, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 84. This letter supplements the Letter to All Manufacturers dated September 26, 1997, Subject: Clarification on Five Approval Label Issues.

NIOSH is providing this clarification because current abbreviated label markings on FFR do not provide information necessary to properly identify certified FFR. Insufficient label information, lack of a testing and certification (TC) approval number marking, and the identity of the respirator manufacturer are three areas of labeling that require clarification. Significant confusion exists as to the manufacturer of FFR and as to the specific approval covering a product. FFR appear in the marketplace in small lots or are redistributed without their original bulk packaging. NIOSH receives inquiries on FFR from users who have access to none of the packaging containing the approval number and manufacturer information.

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