Verifying Shelf Life for NIOSH Approved® Filtering Facepiece Respirators (FFRs)

NIOSH performs point-of-use (i.e., field location) conformity assessment studies. In a recent study, NIOSH noted numerous challenges that the PPE community experiences when trying to locate filtering facepiece respirator (FFR) shelf life information. NIOSH does not currently require approval holders to designate a shelf life for FFRs, deferring to approval holders to establish shelf life recommendations for their specific product. This PPE CASE Notes details respirator shelf life issues identified by NIOSH, what to do when shelf life information isn’t readily available, and actions that can be taken to support NIOSH’s shelf life recommendations for FFRs. NIOSH Approved is a certification mark of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) registered in the United States and several international jurisdictions.