Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 003D Hazard:

29 CFR 1910.134(f)(2): The employer shall ensure that an employee using a tight-fitting facepiece respirator is fit tested prior to initial use of the respirator, whenever a different respirator facepiece (size, style, model or make) is used, and at least annually thereafter: a) On or about March 26, 2014, and at times prior, lab employees were exposed to benzene because the employer did not ensure that half-face respirators used to protect employees were tested to ensure an adequate fit. Air sampling conducted on March 26, 2014, showed an employee was exposed to 10.64 parts per million (ppm) of benzene during a 25 minute sampling period while preparing samples in the lab. This exposure level was approximately 2.12 times greater than the short term exposure limit (STEL) of 5ppm.