Maxim L D, Allshouse J N, Chen S H, Treadway J, Venturin D
Everest Consulting Associates, 15 North Main Street, Cranbury, New Jersey, 08512, USA.
Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 1998 Apr;27(2):131-49. doi: 10.1006/rtph.1998.1202.
The traditional hierarchy of measures for control of potential respiratory hazards in the workplace includes (in order of preference) engineering controls, workplace practices, and use of respiratory protection. Although third in this hierarchy, respirators can be an important component of the control mix-particularly for difficult-to-control jobs, as an interim measure (pending implementation of other controls), and in cases where exposure is intermittent. One of the problems associated with the use of respirators as a control measure is that valid and adequate data on respirator usage are often not available. Absent these data it is difficult to determine the practical effectiveness of respirators and exposure calculations which include the protective effect of respirators are speculative. This paper presents models (and appropriate statistical fitting techniques) suitable for quantification of respirator usage and defines three potentially useful measures of effectiveness for a respirator program. These models are illustrated with monitoring data on refractory ceramic fiber (RCF) developed as part of a Consent Agreement between the RCF industry and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. For this substance there are extensive and comprehensive monitoring data available. The models and methods of analysis may prove applicable for other potential respiratory hazards in the workplace.
工作场所控制潜在呼吸危害的传统措施层级包括（按优先顺序）工程控制、工作场所实践和呼吸防护用品的使用。尽管在这个层级中排在第三位，但呼吸器可能是控制措施组合中的一个重要组成部分，特别是对于难以控制的工作，作为临时措施（在实施其他控制措施之前），以及在暴露是间歇性的情况下。与将呼吸器用作控制措施相关的一个问题是，关于呼吸器使用的有效和充分数据往往无法获得。没有这些数据，就很难确定呼吸器的实际有效性，并且包含呼吸器防护效果的暴露计算也是推测性的。本文介绍了适用于量化呼吸器使用情况的模型（以及适当的统计拟合技术），并定义了呼吸器计划的三种潜在有用的有效性度量。这些模型通过作为耐火陶瓷纤维（RCF）行业与美国环境保护局之间的同意协议的一部分而收集的监测数据进行说明。对于这种物质，有广泛而全面的监测数据可用。这些模型和分析方法可能适用于工作场所的其他潜在呼吸危害。
