California Wildfire Smoke Danger Adds to N95 Mask Shortages

Smoke from California wildfires and the unavailability of N95 masks for outdoor workers could potentially put employers in violation of the state’s rule protecting employees from smoke hazards.

The rule, enacted in July 2019, requires employers to offer N95 or similar masks to outdoor workers when air quality conditions become “unhealthy” as defined by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. As of Thursday, much of central California had unhealthy air.

Robert Moutrie, the California Chamber of Commerce’s workplace policy advocate, said the shortage of masks has created “a huge problem” for employers who must decide whether to shut down outside projects and harvesting, or face citations from the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA).

“The present requirement to shut down just isn’t feasible,” Moutrie said.

But Cal/OSHA hasn’t backed away from its compliance expectations.

Employers Obligated

“Employers are obligated to protect their outdoor workers and must evaluate the health hazards posed by wildfire smoke,” Cal/OSHA Chief Doug Parker said Thursday in a statement released after employers raised complaints earlier in the day.

If employers can’t move operations indoors and they don’t have access to respiratory protection, they may need to halt operations until the outdoor air quality improves, Parker said.

The Cal/OSHA boss added that the agency is trying to identify “viable available temporary alternatives” that would provide workers with an acceptable alternative to N95 masks. Also, the California Department of Food and Agriculture is also hoping to provide N95 masks.

Anne Katten, of the California Rural Legal Assistance Inc., which often represents farmworkers, said employers who can’t obtain N95 masks could seek alternatives.

The alternatives include masks that may not be acceptable for health-care settings but are adequate for protection from inhaling smoke such as an N95 mask which uses a valve to make exhaling easier and foreign-certified respirators known as the KN95 masks..

In March, as the coronavirus began impacting hospitals, the health-care industry began reporting shortages of personal protective equipment, such as N95 masks that prevent 95% of airborne particles from being inhaled.

At the White House’s urging, non-health-care businesses were encouraged to turn over their stockpiles of N95 masks to medical organizations. Newly manufactured masks were reserved for health-care needs.