Cal/OSHA Wildfire Smoke Regulation

NorCal Fires May Trigger Cal/OSHA Wildfire Smoke Regulation

The wildfires burning now in California could trigger the Cal/OSHA emergency regulation requiring employers of employees in outdoor workplaces to provide filtering facepiece (N95) respirators and encouraging their use when the Air Quality Index (AQI) exceeds 150 due to the presence of particulate matter of 2.5 microns or smaller (PM 2.5), if the employer should reasonably expect that employees will be exposed to wildfire smoke.

For further information on compliance, exemptions, employee communication and control of wildfire smoke exposure, please visit the following link:

Compliance with Cal/OSHA Wildfire Smoke Regulation

For employee safety training, please visit the following link:

FELS Protection From Wildfire Smoke

To check the current Air Quality Index, you can visit the following link:

AirNow Air Quality Index Measurement

Agricultural employers should begin immediately acquiring N-95 respirators to provide when the AQI 151/PM 2.5 named pollutant/reasonable expectation of wildfire smoke exposure takes effect.