NIOSH certification staff must be deemed essential during the shutdown
In an urgent letter to Xavier Becerra, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Shalanda Young, Director of the  Office of Management and Budget (OMB), ISEA requested the staff members at the National Personal Protective Technologies Lab (NPPTL), a part of NOISH, be permitted to continue testing and approving respiratory protection during the expected government shutdown.
In the letter, ISEA wrote:
“Respirator manufacturers are continually designing new respirators and upgrading existing models, from disposable N95 respirators to self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBAs) and many other types. New respirators are designed to be able to fit the range of face sizes and shapes of the people in today’s workforce.
To get these new products from the factory floor to workers’ faces as soon as possible, NIOSH NPPTL staff members need to be present and working, even during the expected government shutdown.”
