EPA is requesting public comment on revised respirator descriptions for pesticide labels for chapter 10 of the Label Review Manual (LRM). The LRM provides guidance on pesticide labeling with the goal of improving the quality and consistency of pesticide labels. EPA is making these revisions, with the encouragement of state regulatory agencies, as part of our efforts to:

• Bring the respirator descriptions on pesticide labels into conformance with the current NIOSH respirator language;
• Ensure that pesticide handlers and their employers have the information they need to identify and buy the respirator required to provide needed protection;
• Delete outdated statements referring to respirators that no longer exist; and
• Clarify and update language to ensure the guidance is easy to comply with.

Please submit comments on the revised respirator descriptions to opprespiratortable@epa.gov by June 11, 2018.

After considering comments, EPA will update chapter 10 "Worker Protection Labeling" of the LRM. Upon release of the revised chapter EPA will request that registrants submitting labels for other reasons revise their personal protective equipment (PPE) statements to include the updated descriptions at the same time.  Should those registrants wish to revise only the PPE statements to incorporate the new respirator descriptions they will be advised to submit a fast track amendment with the changes. For existing products that are not updated following the release of the revised chapter, EPA will require the submission of labels with the revised descriptions of respirators during the registration review process.

The revised respirator descriptions are available via the links below as an editable Microsoft Word file and a PDF file.

Revised Respirator Section of Label Review Manual Chapter 10 (DOCX)(11 pp, 797 K)  

• Revised Respirator Section of Label Review Manual Chapter 10 (PDF)(11 pp, 534 K)