The personal protective equipment as a hazard; Review of the respiratory protective equipment as a case study

Abstract

Occupational safety globally envisioned maximum performance and prevention of workforce shortfall of the nurses and health workers via the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 3: good health and well-being, and the International Council of Nurses’ view encapsulated in the Nursing Personnel Convention of 1977 (No. 149). The review used relevant journal articles to present the concept of respiratory personal equipment (RPE) starting with its types, which are either air-supplying respirators (supplied-air respiratory system: used in biosafety level four laboratories that deal with highly infective agents and self-contained breathing apparatus: used by special personnel who work in oxygen-deficient environments) or air-purifying respirators (non-powered: filtering facepiece masks and elastomeric respirators and powered). The potential hazards of the RPE were presented to include physical discomfort and health issues, where rebreathing of the expired air increases arterial CO2 levels with the chances of blood acidic elevation, and obstructive pulmonary disease; skin irritation and allergic reactions; compounding heat stress; psychological effects with emotional stress and communication barriers; and impairment of senses with vision obstruction and hearing impairment. Improper use and maintenance with fit and seal issues, contamination risks, and misuse and overreliance were determined to turn the RPE into a hazard with real-world cases to establish how RPE can be a hazard. The review gathered improving RPE design and comfort, training programmes, maintenance and hygiene, and policy and administrative controls as the strategies to mitigate the associated risks of using RPE, which occupational safety views as an inevitable PPE