Face the facts

IN THE UK and across the globe, exposure to respiratory hazards whether at work (e.g., silica dust and asbestos) or during everyday activities (e.g., airborne pollution and volcanic ash), causes tens of thousands of deaths and a greater number of cases of ill health. While in some situations, exposure can be eliminated or reduced to safe levels using engineering solutions, often the situation requires the use of respiratory protection. Understanding respiratory protection – its selection, use, protection afforded, suitability and so on can be a challenge. The ISRP, which celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, has been sharing knowledge on respiratory protection with users, H&S regulators, academics, standards makers, PPE manufacturers’ and many other across the world through its journal, seminars, and conferences since its inception. This year’s International Conference plays a key role in sharing knowledge.

About the ISRP

The International Society for Respiratory Protection (ISRP) is a non-profit organisation that provides information, education, expertise and guidance in the understanding, use and implementation of respiratory protection in both the workplace and non-work environments.

The society regularly convenes regional and international conferences at various locations around the world. These events bring together multi-disciplinary occupational health and safety professionals, end users, H&S regulators, academics, standards makers, PPE manufacturers, test laboratories and many others. 

Aims and objectives 

The objectives of the Society are to:

• Enhance the health and safety of persons that use respiratory protection devices.
• Encourage the development of standards and best practices applicable to the development, implementation, and administration of respiratory protection programmes.
• Promote the research and evaluation of respiratory protection.
• Improve the knowledge of respiratory protection through collection and dissemination of information, and the bringing together of persons interested in all aspects of respiratory protection.

Supporting the mission of sharing information in the field of respiratory protection, the journal of the ISRP serves as a major forum for the publication of research, innovations, developments, and best practice. 

The ISRP comprises of six sections – Americas, Europe, Korean, Japan, Greater Chinese, and Australasia. Each Section holds regional events throughout the year on wide-ranging topics. Over recent years the topics have included: respiratory infectious diseases (SARS, MERS, COVID-19), asbestos, silica, welding, anthropometrics, fit testing, volcanic ash, and CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear) to name but a few.

The ISRP also has had the pleasure to collaborate with similar professional societies and organisations including the British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF), the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS), the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), China Union of Personal Protection Equipment (CUPPE) and other international and national occupational hygiene associations. Recent collaborations with the International Volcanic Health Hazard Network and FACE-UP (a research consortium undertaking research into children’s exposure to, and protection from urban pollution) have seen an increased interest in non-occupational respiratory protection.

In the ISRP’s collaboration with the International Volcanic Health Hazard Network, the Society advised on research, and assisted with the training of NGO personnel in the use of respiratory protection in community settings in Indonesia.

In pursuance of the Society’s aims to educate users of respiratory protection, the ISRP created a universal training module for developing countries. Often faced with many languages and local dialects, the training modules took a unique visual approach with the use of cartoons having high visual impact with minimum written content. The ISRP had great success with the delivery of Train the Trainer to the Cambodian Health Department and since the delivery of the first training sessions by ISRP members, the Cambodian Health Department has subsequently trained upwards of 2500 medical staff in the correct use of respiratory protection. 

Respiratory protection (commonly referred to as RPE and PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic was of huge importance. Demand for, and the use of, PPE increased dramatically and the ISRP through its members advised, supported, and guided many key actors during that challenging time.

To assist with knowledge sharing during the COVID-19 pandemic, the ISRP collated, and made available for free access, a collection of previously published ISRP journal papers and articles relating to the use of respiratory protection in healthcare and the reuse of filtering facepiece respirators. The use of disposable filtering facepieces (e.g., FFP3) and the interest in the decontamination and reuse of these products due to world-wide shortages was of great interest to many national healthcare authorities and governmental bodies during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

ISRP Oxford 2024 International Conference

This year’s 21^st Biennial International Conference is to be held in Pembroke College, in the university city of Oxford. As a worldwide society, previous conferences and ISRP Section seminars have been held throughout Europe, across North America and Asia and in Australia attracting a truly global audience and presenters.

We are honoured to announce that our opening keynote presentation this year will be given by professor David Fishwick, HSE’s chief medical advisor.  David is a key advocate for improving respiratory health and advises HSE in its respiratory health policy. David also has produced some great short videos on respiratory health and protection, and if you have not seen these then I recommend you visit the HSE website. 

We are also pleased to announce that another keynote presentation will be on the topic of respiratory protection standards. The demand during the pandemic for RPE for healthcare, and for community face coverings (note: community face coverings are not classified as PPE) for use by the public (do you recall the cut-out pattern in the newspapers!) has instigated a range of new performance standards both European (CEN) and International (ISO). The conference will offer a great opportunity to get up to speed with these developing standards. Other keynote presentations will cover topics on the RPE performance, RPE developments and a much-anticipated presentation on the work of the UK Government’s PPE Cell during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The conference exhibition offers the opportunity for delegates to see and hear about - and get their hands on - the latest developments in respiratory protection from many of the leading respiratory protection and fit test equipment manufacturers, distributors, and service providers. 

Respiratory protective equipment (RPE) fit testing, which HSE introduced into its regulations and code of practice on the selection and use of RPE, will again take a headline spot at the conference. There will be presentations from fit testers, researchers, fit test equipment manufacturers and we will also hear about the latest updates in standards and regulations, and competency - both at home and away. Fit testing is now a requirement in many countries and the success of the BSIF’s Fit2Fit competency scheme has led it to be either adopted or adapted by several other countries - we will hear the latest updates, both in the UK and internationally. 

On the final day of the four-day conference, a session will be devoted to the FACE-UP programme, covering research into children’s exposure to urban pollution and the development of best practice for protecting children – a particular challenge as standards and guidance up to now have focused on reducing exposure in adults to respiratory hazards in the workplace. The lack of research, standards, guidance and respiratory protective equipment for children and other non-occupational users of respiratory protection is a growing concern. 

Call for papers

The technical programme will cover all aspects of respiratory protection – domestic preparedness, research, regulation, standards, performance, fit testing, civil, military and healthcare and first responder use to name but a few.

We welcome submissions to present on any topic related to respiratory protection, and if you are considering attending, we invite you to think about submitting a paper. However, you don’t need to submit a paper to attend.

Details on how to submit an abstract are at: https://www.isrp.com/call-for-papers

Attending the conference

Attendance at the conference is open to ISRP members and non-members. By joining the ISRP there are great savings to be made on the conference fee, and membership brings the benefits of reduced fees for local seminars and webinars, access to the journal of the ISRP, plus the benefits of joining the number one professional forum within the broad field of respiratory protection.

The conference aims to promote, educate, and inform on all aspects of respiratory protection and its use to reduce worker exposure to hazardous substances globally - through plenary sessions, keynote presentations, exhibition, and poster presentations, as well as networking opportunities and social events. 

ISRP members come from a multidisciplinary background and include research institutions, national and international health and safety agencies and regulators, commercial organisations, manufacturers, consultants, and academia. As students embark on their studies and early careers, ISRP is there to help with bursaries, awards, and support from experienced specialists in the field; there is also a reduced conference rate for students.

To register for the conference please visit: www.isrp.com/oxford-2024-home

Mike Clayton is past president, ISRP and chairof BSIF Respiratory Protection Special Interest Group. For more information, visit www.isrp.com

* Please note conference programme subject to change