Counterfeit Respirators

Counterfeit respirators are products that are falsely marketed and sold as being approved by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) or approved to some other acceptable standard, and may not be capable of providing appropriate respiratory protection to workers. NIOSH has identified a number of red flags including:

• No NIOSH markings

• NIOSH spelled incorrectly

• Presence of decorative fabric or other decorative add-ons

Additional information regarding counterfeit NIOSH approval can be found here.

KN95 respirators not meeting performance standards have also been identified. The Centre for Disease Control is testing many of these and the results are available here. If an employer suspects that a mask is fraudulent or uncertified, stop using it and report the information to Health Canada.

Go here for information on many of the current issues related to the safe use of disposable respirators.

-OHS/ES eNews