{"id":9705,"date":"2026-08-26T09:44:35","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T16:44:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/safecarebc.ca\/?p=9705"},"modified":"2026-08-26T09:50:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T16:50:51","slug":"worksafebc-board-approves-regulatory-changes-for-respirators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scbcdev.safecarebc.ca\/?p=9705","title":{"rendered":"WorkSafeBC Board approves regulatory changes for respirators"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Changes to the <em>Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, Part 8, Personal Protective Clothing and Equipment \u2014 Respirators: Face Seal&nbsp;<\/em>will come into effect on November 6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The changes are intended to clarify existing requirements rather than introduce new ones, and do not apply to loose-fitting respirators.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The proposed amendments for respirators:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Introduce a clear definition of a \u201ctight-fitting respirator\u201d (one that requires a seal with the face to function properly and removes mention of the neck). &nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Clarify that nothing may interfere with the seal or proper functioning of a tight-fitting respirator (including hair, clothing, jewellery, or other materials between the respirator and the face). &nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reinforce existing expectations that workers must be clean-shaven where the respirator seals. &nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Align and simplify language across related sections on fit testing and user seal checks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Resources to support you:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/scbcdev.safecarebc.ca\/resources\/templates\/respiratory-protection-templates\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Respiratory protection program and policy templates<\/a>\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><u><a href=\"https:\/\/scbcdev.safecarebc.ca\/training\/elearning\/qualitative-fit-tester-training\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Qualitative N95 Fit Testing Training<\/a><\/u><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For more information, you can view <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.worksafebc.com\/en\/resources\/law-policy\/discussion-papers\/part-8-face-seal-strikethrough-july-2026?\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WorkSafeBC\u2019s approved amendments<\/a><\/u> with explanatory notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you have questions about the amendments or you would like help refining your respiratory fit testing program, connect with us at <a href=\"mailto:info@safecarebc.ca\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>info@safecarebc.ca<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Everything you need to know about the changes to WorkSafeBC's Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, Part 8, Personal Protective Clothing and Equipment \u2014 Respirators: Face Seal\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":3199,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,68],"tags":[183],"topic":[],"class_list":["post-9705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-regulatory","tag-homepage"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-09-15 18:25:58","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scbcdev.safecarebc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scbcdev.safecarebc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scbcdev.safecarebc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scbcdev.safecarebc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scbcdev.safecarebc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9705"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/scbcdev.safecarebc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9705\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9708,"href":"https:\/\/scbcdev.safecarebc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9705\/revisions\/9708"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scbcdev.safecarebc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scbcdev.safecarebc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scbcdev.safecarebc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scbcdev.safecarebc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9705"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scbcdev.safecarebc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftopic&post=9705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}