Cal/OSHA issues guidance to cope with N95 shortages
Employersneedingtousethetemporary exceptionsmust be able todocument that they first tried but were unable to acquire N95masks. Cal/OSHA suggested a record of phone calls to suppliers or a pending purchase order before the agency would allowan exception. BryanLittle,directorofemploymentpoli- cyfortheCaliforniaFarmBureauFederation andchief operatingofficer of CFBFaffiliate FarmEmployers Labor Service, said he’s been encouraging people to acquireN95s administered by the Community Action Partnership of Kern. In addition to hotel quarantinesupport suchas transportation, meals and wellness checks, Kern County has allocated resources for financial as- sistance and additional support for family membersathome.Farmandfood-process- ing employees in Kern County who need the servicesmay start by calling 211. MaderaCountyisjoiningwiththeCentral Valley Opportunity Center inHousing for theHarvest. The CVOCwill provide trans- portation,meals andwellness checks. To inquire about services in Madera Count y , f a rm and f ood-proces s - ing employees should v i s i t www.
since the smoke regulation was adopted, but theCOVID-19pandemic and resulting surgeindemandamonghealthcareprofes- sionalsdrained the supply. The document may be read a t www . d i r. c a . g ov / do s h /w i l d f i r e / Strategies-Optimizing-Supply-N95- Respirators-Wildfires.pdf. The temporary guidancealsocontainsalistofN95vendors. (Kevin Hecteman i s an ass i stant editor of Ag Alert. He may be contacted at khecteman@cfbf.com.)
ByKevinHecteman Facedwitha severe shortageofN95 res- pirators amid a pandemic and a record wildfire season, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health has released temporary guidance for agricul- tural employers. Under this guidance, agricultural em- ployerswhoneedemployees toworkout- doors on smoky days will be allowed cer- tainexceptions if theyareunable tosecure enough N95 masks, also called filtering face piece respirators. State regulations require employers to provide such respi- rators and encourage their use when the airquality index reachesat least 151due to wildfire smokewithpollutantsmeasuring 2.5micrometers or smaller, calledPM2.5. The temporary guidance permits use of N95 respirators that have exceeded their shelf life, provided they were stored ac- cording to the maker’s specifications; al- lowsanemployee toreuseanN95 formore thanone shift if it’s still in satisfactory con- dition; andallowsuseofother reusableres- pirators certified by the National Institute of Occupational Safety andHealth. Thestateagency saiduseof foreign-cer- tifiedrespirators, suchasChinese-certified KN95s, will be allowed if the employer triedtoobtainNIOSH-certifiedrespirators
but none were available; the air-quality index for PM 2.5 particles reaches 175 or lower; the respirator has two head straps and does not have ear loops; and the res- piratorprovidesaminimum95%filtration efficiency asmeasured byNIOSH testing.
Housing for the Harvest adds four counties TenCalifornia counties nowparticipate in the Housing for the Harvest program, which makes available temporary hotel housing for farmand food-processingem- ployees to self-isolateduring thepandem- ic.Kern,Madera, SacramentoandSanLuis Obispo counties became the latest to join the program. thehealthyharvest.orgorwww.cosechasana. orgor call 559-710-2000.
Housing for theHarvest in Sacramento Countywill beadministeredbyLaFamilia Counseling Center. The county has allo- cated resources for financial assistance andadditional support for familyat home. Farm and food-processing employees inSacramentoCountymayaccess the ser- vices by calling 916-452-3601. San Luis Obispo County will admin- ister the program there. To learn more about the program, farm and food-pro- cessing employees in San Luis Obispo County may call 805-781-1061 or email EOC-Lodging@co.slo.us.
UnderHousing for theHarvest, the state secures hotel rooms in the participating counties; local government bodies identi- fy administrators tomanage the program and community organizations to provide additonal services. Farmor food-process- ing employees can use the rooms if they are positive for COVID-19 and do not re- quire hospitalization, or if they have been exposed and cannot properly self-isolate at home. In Kern County, the program will be
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October 7, 2020 Ag Alert 19
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