NIOSH revises guidance on counterfeit and misrepresented respirators (revised Jan 2026)

NIOSH issued a revised version (January 2026) of its guidance/fact sheet on informing workers about counterfeit and misrepresented respirators. The update includes clarifying content related to respirator/cartridge protection (as reflected in the revised PDF). Compliance teams managing respiratory protection programs and procurement/supplier controls can use the revised guidance to strengthen worker communications, inspection/verification practices, and purchasing controls to avoid non-NIOSH-approved or misrepresented products.