NEWSWATCH
RESPIRATORY PROTECTION
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First Approval Issued for Large-capacity Closed-circuit Escape Respirator
In January, NIOSH and MSHA approved the first large-capacity (Cap 3) closed-circuit escape respirator (CCER) for use in underground coal mining under new standards that became effective in 2012. Manufacturers are allowed to continue to manufacture, label, and sell Cap 3 CCERs for mining approved under the former standard until Jan. 4, 2017. A final rule published in August 2015 extended the transition period for the new standards established in the 2012 final rule for the certification of CCERs by NIOSH. The standards were originally designed to take effect over a three-year transition period, during which manufacturers were allowed to continue to manufacture, label, and sell respirators certified to the prior standards until April 9, 2015. Under the new rule, NIOSH extends the concluding date for the transition until one year after the agency first approves a CCER model under the capacity rating categories Cap 1 mining, Cap 3 mining, and Cap 3 non-mining. Read more from the NIOSH website.
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