Removal of Compliance Deadline for Closed-Circuit Escape Respirators and Clarification of Post-Approval Testing Standards for Closed-Circuit Escape Respirators

With this deregulatory action, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) revises regulatory language to remove a deadline by which respirator manufacturers must discontinue the manufacturing, labeling, and sale of certain self-contained self-rescuer models. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HHS, has determined that discontinuing the manufacturing, labeling, and sale of certain self-contained self-rescuer models is likely to result in a shortage of person-wearable large capacity escape respirators for underground coal miners who rely on these devices. In addition to removing the compliance deadline, HHS is also modifying regulatory language to clarify that post-approval testing of closed-circuit escape respirators may exclude human subject testing and environmental conditioning, at the discretion of NIOSH.