Fatal Injuries in the United States Involving Respirators, 1984–1995

Details

• Personal Author:
  Milliken W ; Sesek R ; Stephenson D ; Suruda, Anthony J.
• Description:
  There is little published information concerning the epidemiology of fatal injuries involving respiratory protection. We compiled a case series from U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation reports from 1984 through 1995. For the 12-year period there were 41 incidents resulting in 45 deaths due to asphyxiation or chemical poisoning while wearing a respirator. There were 23 deaths related to airline respirators, 17 deaths involving use of negative pressure (air purifying) respirators, and 5 deaths involving self-contained breathing apparatus. Among the 23 deaths involving airline respirators, 15 were associated with compatible connection couplings for breathable air and inert gases. Three workers with beards died who wore tightfitting respirators in an atmosphere that was immediately dangerous to life and health. Most of the fatalities involved regulatory and procedural violations, and would have been prevented by proper training and compliance with existing regulations. The information concerning the victims was limited but it did not appear that medical screening would have prevented any of the deaths. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Coal Coal Mining Mining Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Air-purifying-respirators Aircraft Epidemiology Fungicides Inert-gases Injuries Mortality-data Organic-solvents Oxygen-deficient-atmospheres Poisons Regulations Respirators Respiratory-equipment Respiratory-protective-equipment Self-contained-breathing-apparatus Standards Traumatic-injuries

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• ISSN:
  1047-322X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 8 ; Utah
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  289-292
• Volume:
  18
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20032362
• Citation:
  Appl Occup Environ Hyg 2003 Apr; 18(4):289-292
• Contact Point Address:
  Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112
• CAS Registry Number:
  Ammonia (CAS RN 7664-41-7) ; Argon (CAS RN 7440-37-1) ; Carbon monoxide (CAS RN 630-08-0) ; Hydrogen sulfide (CAS RN 7783-06-4) ; Nitrogen (CAS RN 7727-37-9) ; Phosgene (CAS RN 75-44-5)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2003
• Performing Organization:
  Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, Department of Family & Preventive Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19950701
• Source Full Name:
  Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• End Date:
  20020630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:22016485354064c1adcea41cc5392e4b95858e15e5bce1b05f48e0cea32fd62b28ed93c3bd65de4ecc0b3fc3d1f310f6fb5c51915fe5f93bec4fd683daca691e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/186373/cdc_186373_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 251.68 KB ]