OSHA reopens comment period for proposed changes to the Respiratory Protection standard

After OSHA’s Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH) reviewed the rulemaking, the agency reopened the comment period for proposed changes to the Respiratory Protection rule.

Originally published in the Federal Register on July 1, 2025, the proposed rule removes some medical evaluation requirements from the Respiratory Protection standard at 1910.134 for certain types of respirators, including filtering facepiece respirators and loose-fitting powered air-purifying respirators. OSHA determined that using a respirator may place a physiological burden on employees based on the:

• Type of respirator worn,
• Job and workplace conditions in which the respirator is used, and
• Medical status of the employee.

Comments can be submitted until July 6 by searching Docket No. OSHA-2025-0006 at regulations.gov.