NIOSH Revokes PHE Approvals for Respirators
Effective immediately, NIOSH revoked approval for eight filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) and four powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs) that received temporary approval during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) to address respirator supply shortages. These approvals were limited to the PHE and intended to be revoked when the PHE ended. The PHE-approved respirators, identifiable by the “PH” designation in the approval number (TC-84A-PHXX for FFRs and TC-21C-PHXX for PAPRs), are no longer recognized as NIOSH-approved and cannot be used in workplace settings that require the use of NIOSH-approved respirators. Read the NIOSH announcement.