Respiratory Examinations
Whether for emergency personnel as first responders or employees in industrial chemical refineries, if your employees are required to wear protective masks or respiratory equipment, we can make sure it meets OSHA requirements.
We know the regulatory standards and understand that upholding required respiratory equipment guidelines is important to protecting the health and safety of your employees. We are one of the few occupational health programs to offer the precision of the Portacount respiratory equipment-screening device, the most advanced system available to assess the effectiveness of your employees’ protective respiratory masks.
The Portacount is state-of-the-art in respiratory protection.
- It provides a precise, quantitative measurement of ambient air quality inside a mask.
- It can assess the effectiveness of ANY respiratory protection mask. It is especially useful for first responders who wear FM-12 masks issued by the Department of Homeland Security.
- The Portacount works by taking dual measurements. One sampling is inserted into the mask to measure the air quality inside the mask and another measures the air outside, allowing comparison of the two measurements.
- It provides maximum protection for employees using respiratory protection masks.
- It is much more accurate than the saccharin test.
We also administer fit tests, either on-site or in our facilities, for all protective masks in accordance to OSHA-required testing that assesses mask effectiveness while performing these activities:
- Deep breathing
- Head movement up/down
- Head movement side/side
- Bending
- Talking
If your personnel are first responders who use the Department of Homeland Security FM-12 masks, we can qualify them to wear the mask with these OSHA-mandated requirements:
- Questionnaire — This screens for medical symptoms, illnesses and lifestyle risk factors to help determine if candidates for the FM-12 masks require additional medical evaluation prior to using the mask.
- Complete physical — This determines if the individual is physically able to wear the mask. This test screens cardiac fitness, respiratory function, vision, hearing and musculoskeletal function.