Florida Administrative Code › 64 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH › 64E - Division of Environmental Health › Chapter 64E-5 - CONTROL OF RADIATION HAZARDS › Section 64E-5.319 - Use of Individual Respiratory Protection Equipment

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
(1) If the licensee uses respiratory
				protection equipment to limit intakes as specified in Rule
				 64E-5.318, F.A.C.:
(a) The licensee shall use only respiratory
				protection equipment that is tested and certified by the National Institute for
				Occupational Safety and Health except as provided in paragraph
				 64E-5.319(1)(b),
				F.A.C.
(b) If the licensee wishes
				to use equipment that has not been tested or certified by the National
				Institute for Occupational Safety and Health or for which there is no schedule
				for testing or certification, the licensee shall submit an application for
				authorized use of that equipment, including evidence that the material and
				performance characteristics of the equipment are capable of providing the
				proposed degree of protection under anticipated conditions of use demonstrated
				by testing or on the basis of reliable test information.
(c) The licensee shall implement and maintain
				a respiratory protection program that includes:
1. Air sampling sufficient to identify the
				potential hazard, permit proper equipment selection, and estimate doses,
2. Surveys and bioassays as needed
				to evaluate actual intakes,
3.
				Testing of respirators for operability including user seal checks for face
				sealing devices and functional checks for other devices immediately before each
				use,
4. Written procedures
				regarding supervision and training of respirator users; monitoring, including
				air sampling and bioassays; fit testing; respirator selection; breathing air
				quality; inventory and control; storage, issuance, maintenance, repair,
				testing, and quality assurance of respiratory protection equipment; limitations
				on periods of respirator use and relief from respirator use; and recordkeeping,
5. Determination by a physician
				before initial fitting of face sealing respirators, before the first field use
				of non-face sealing respirators, and every 12 months thereafter or periodically
				at a frequency determined by a physician that the individual user is medically
				fit to use respiratory protection equipment; and,
6. Fit testing before the first field use of
				tight fitting face-sealing respirators and periodically thereafter at a
				frequency not to exceed 1 year with fit factor >= 10 times the APF for
				negative pressure devices and a fit factor >= 500 for any positive pressure,
				continuous flow, and pressure-demand devices. Fit testing shall be performed
				with the facepiece operating in the negative pressure mode.
(d) The licensee shall advise each respirator
				user that the user can leave the area at any time for relief from respirator
				use in the event of equipment malfunction, physical or psychological distress,
				procedural or communication failure, significant deterioration of operating
				conditions, or any other conditions that might require such relief.
(e) The licensee also shall consider
				limitations appropriate to the type and mode of use. When selecting respiratory
				devices, the licensee shall provide for vision correction, adequate
				communication, low temperature work environments, and the concurrent use of
				other safety or radiological protection equipment. The licensee shall use
				equipment in such a way as not to interfere with the proper operation of the
				respirator.
(f) Standby rescue
				persons are required whenever one-piece atmosphere-supplying suits or any
				combination of supplied-air respiratory protection device and personnel
				protective equipment are used from which an unaided individual would have
				difficulty extricating himself or herself. Standby persons shall be equipped
				with respiratory protection devices or other apparatus appropriate for the
				potential hazards. The standby rescue persons shall observe or otherwise
				maintain continuous communication with the workers through visual, voice,
				signal line, telephone, radio, or other suitable means and be available
				immediately to assist them in case of a failure of the air supply or for any
				other reason that requires relief from distress. A sufficient number of standby
				rescue persons shall be available immediately to assist all users of this type
				of equipment and to provide effective emergency rescue if needed.
(g) Atmosphere-supplying respirators shall be
				supplied with respirable air of grade D quality or better as defined by the
				Compressed Gas Association in publication G-7.1, "Commodity Specification for
				Air, " 1997, which is herein incorporated by reference and, available from the
				Compressed Gas Association, Inc., and included in the regulations of the
				Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Grade D quality air criteria
				include:
1. Oxygen content (v/v) of 19.5 -
				23.5%,
2. Condensed hydrocarbon
				content of 5 milligrams per cubic meter of air or less,
3. Carbon monoxide content of 10 ppm or less,
4. Carbon dioxide content of 1,
				000 ppm or less; and,
5. Lack of
				noticeable odor.
(h) The
				licensee shall ensure that no objects, materials, or substances such as facial
				hair, or any conditions that interfere with the face-to-facepiece seal or valve
				function and that are under the control of the respirator wearer are between
				the skin of the wearer's face and the sealing surface of a tight-fitting
				respirator facepiece.