Presentation 1- Respiratory Protection Advancements for Emergency Responders
Presenter: Jon Szalajda, Deputy Director for the NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory

Over the past thirty years, the nature of emergency response has changed.  Because of changes in the approach to firefighting due to modern construction, preparing for the potential of Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear terrorism events, and the need for respiratory protection during manmade or natural disasters, respiratory protection technology is evolving as well. This presentation will provide an overview of evolutions in standard requirements that address the changes in respiratory protection.


Presentation 2- Evaluation of CBRN respirator protection in simulated fire overhaul settings
Presenters: Stephanie Griffin, PhD, CIH; Dylan Staack, MPH; Jeff Burgess, MD, MS, MPH, University of Arizona

Firefighter overhaul is a phase of firefighting following knockdown of the flames when firefighters search for and extinguish hidden sources of combustion. The current recommendation for respiratory protection during overhaul is to use a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), but an air-purifying respirator (APR) with suitable filters could potentially provide another option for first responders if the APR was found to provide adequate protection. Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) canisters are designed to protect against many of the chemicals found in smoke. This portion of the webinar will discuss a recent study that was designed to measure the protective capability of an APR with CBRN canister used during overhaul compared with the protection offered by an SCBA.