Facial Hair Policies

[quint]

Ok I have spent part of the day looking over the OSHA regs. All I can find is that facial hair is a contributing factor to poor fit, but no statements that require you to have a clean shaven face. It does say that the employers are suppose to use a quantitative fit test (the one that actually measures the amount of are circulated and "leaked in and out" of the respirator. It even states in one of their reports that the growth of facial hair is grounds for a retest within a two week window if the employee feels that the seal is compromised. Here is a link to the explanation of the new rules on OSHA's website http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.sh...&p_id=13749 (sorry it does not supply a direct link, but I couldn't get it to work like I thought it should on this forum, admin feel free to fix this link and delete this parenthesed text). Hope you enjoy reading, but it was very informative for me.

Michael

I think this sums it up pretty good. Remember you are voluntarily in a hazardous job market from the word go.....do you really need to roll the dice and find out that your mask no longer seals on a scene??? just my .02 worth

[mstovall]

One other thing to remember is that OSHA regs are the MINIMAL that a employer has to do. They may choose to make it more stringent if they choose. The same with NFPA.

Michael

[Richard B the EMT]

FDNY's protocols are extreme, yet simple. If you have a beard, you just failed the N95 mask fitting.

I am not saying it to be right or wrong, just that it is!

Also, for the Millennium (spelling?) Gas Mask fitting, the mustache is not to go past the corners of the mouth.

[spenac]

How about we look like a professional and just be clean shaven.

[AnthonyM83]

How about we look like a professional and just be clean shaven.

I bet you could list off a bunch of professional positions that have facial hair. I find the idea of uniformity and clean-shave very FD / Public Safety - like.