Respiratory Protection Program

Cal Poly's Respiratory Protection Program is established to protect personnel from hazardous airborne substances. Respirators should be used as the last resort in preventing harmful exposures and not as a substitute for other feasible controls/measures. Exposure prevention is accomplished as far as feasible by implementing engineering control measures (for example, general and local ventilation, enclosure or isolation, and substitution of less hazardous processes or materials). When effective engineering controls are not feasible, or while they are being instituted, appropriate respirators may be required.

Cal Poly has approximately 100 faculty, staff and student workers who wear respirators as part of their work on campus. Inclusion in the Respiratory Protection Program ensures safe and effective use of respiratory protective equipment. Typical tasks which require the use of a respirator include: disturbance of asbestos and lead during construction, application of pesticides, and prevention of infectious disease transmission for healthcare workers.

Below is a link to the campus Respiratory protection program and a video and poster for reference on how to safely don a filtering face piece respirator.

For additional information on Respiratory Protection, contact the Interim Program Administrator, Erin Winett at 805-756-6678 or email at egwinett@calpoly.edu.


To enroll a new employee in the Respiratory Protection Program, please have the employee's supervisor or manager fill out the following form: