Editing Respirator (section)

==== Respirator non-compliance ====
{{see also|N95 respirator#Later history}}
With regards to people complying with requirements to wear respirators, various papers note high respirator non-compliance across industries,<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqr132 | doi=10.1093/occmed/kqr132 | title=Factors influencing respirator use at work in respiratory patients | date=2011 | last1=Fukakusa | first1=J. | last2=Rosenblat | first2=J. | last3=Jang | first3=B. | last4=Ribeiro | first4=M. | last5=Kudla | first5=I. | last6=Tarlo | first6=S. M. | journal=Occupational Medicine | volume=61 | issue=8 | pages=576–582 | pmid=21968940 | url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/annweh/wxae008 | doi=10.1093/annweh/wxae008 | title=Use, failure, and non-compliance of respiratory personal protective equipment and risk of upper respiratory tract infections—A longitudinal repeated measurement study during the COVID-19 pandemic among healthcare workers in Denmark | date=2024 | last1=Biering | first1=Karin | last2=Kinnerup | first2=Martin | last3=Cramer | first3=Christine | last4=Dalbøge | first4=Annett | last5=Toft Würtz | first5=Else | last6=Lund Würtz | first6=Anne Mette | last7=Kolstad | first7=Henrik Albert | last8=Schlünssen | first8=Vivi | last9=Meulengracht Flachs | first9=Esben | last10=Nielsen | first10=Kent J. | journal=Annals of Work Exposures and Health | volume=68 | issue=4 | pages=376–386 | pmid=38373246 }}</ref> with a survey noting non-compliance was due in large part due to discomfort from temperature increases along the face, and a large amount of respondents also noting the social unacceptability of provided [[N95 respirator]]s during the survey.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2009.09.005 | doi=10.1016/j.ajic.2009.09.005 | title=Health care workers' views about respirator use and features that should be included in the next generation of respirators | date=2010 | last1=Baig | first1=Aliya S. | last2=Knapp | first2=Caprice | last3=Eagan | first3=Aaron E. | last4=Radonovich | first4=Lewis J. | journal=American Journal of Infection Control | volume=38 | issue=1 | pages=18–25 | pmid=20036443 | pmc=7132692 }}</ref> For reasons like mishandling, ill-fitting respirators and lack of training, the Hierarchy of Controls dictates respirators be evaluated last while other controls exist and are working. Alternative controls like [[hazard elimination]], [[administrative controls]], and engineering controls like [[Ventilation (architecture)|ventilation]] are less likely to fail due to user discomfort or error.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://simplifiedsafety.com/blog/the-hierarchy-of-controls-part-four-personal-protective-equipment/|title=The Hierarchy of Controls, Part Four: Personal Protective Equipment|publisher=Simplified Safety|access-date=3 June 2024|archive-date=3 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240603031949/https://simplifiedsafety.com/blog/the-hierarchy-of-controls-part-four-personal-protective-equipment/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/learning/safetyculturehc/module-3/7.html|title=Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Protect the Worker with PPE|date=5 May 2023|publisher=NIOSH|access-date=3 June 2024|archive-date=3 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240603031949/https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/learning/safetyculturehc/module-3/7.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

A U.S. Department of Labor study<ref name="Обзор-2001">{{cite book|last1=U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics|url=https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/respsurv/pdfs/respsurv2001.pdf|title=Respirator Usage in Private Sector Firms, 2001|publisher=U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health|location=Morgantown, WV|pages=273|access-date=22 January 2019|archive-date=1 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171101172745/https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/respsurv/pdfs/respsurv2001.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> showed that in almost 40 thousand American enterprises, the requirements for the correct use of respirators are not always met. Experts note that in practice it is difficult to achieve elimination of occupational morbidity with the help of respirators:

{{blockquote|It is well known how ineffective ... trying to compensate the harmful workplace conditions with ... the use of respirators by employees.<ref name="Летавет-1992">{{cite journal|author=Letavet A.A.|author-link=:ru:Летавет, Август Андреевич|date=1973|script-title=ru:Институт гигиены труда и профессиональных заболеваний в составе АМН СССР|trans-title=Research Institute of industrial hygiene and occupational diseases of AMS USSR|url=https://www.journal-irioh.ru/jour|journal=Occupational medicine and industrial ecology [Гигиена труда и профессиональные заболевания]|language=ru|pages=1–7|issn=1026-9428|number=9|access-date=22 January 2019|archive-date=23 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123011650/https://www.journal-irioh.ru/jour|url-status=live}}</ref>

Unfortunately, the only certain way of reducing the exceedance fraction to zero is to ensure that Co ''(note: Co - concentration of pollutants in the breathing zone)'' never exceeds the PEL value.<ref name="Nicas-1992">{{cite journal|author=M. Nicas & R. Spear|date=1992|title=A Probability Model for Assessing Exposure among Respirator Wearers: Part II - Overexposure to Chronic versus Acute Toxicants|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/aiha20/53/7?nav=tocList|journal=American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal|volume=53|pages=419–426|doi=10.1080/15298669291359889|pmid=1496932|access-date=22 January 2018|number=7|archive-date=7 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407193829/https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/aiha20/53/7?nav=tocList|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref>}}

===== Beards =====
[[File:Facial hairstyles and filtering facepiece respirators.pdf|thumb|left|Beards can significantly affect the integrity of the respirator's face seal.]]
Certain types of facial hair can reduce fit to a significant degree. For this reason, there are facial hair guidelines for respirator users.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2017/11/02/noshave/|title=To Beard or not to Beard? That's a good Question!|date=2 November 2017|publisher=NIOSH|access-date=27 February 2020|archive-date=18 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200318034249/https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2017/11/02/noshave/|url-status=live}}</ref>