Arizona Administrative Code › Title 9 - HEALTH SERVICES › Chapter 7 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES - RADIATION CONTROL › Article 4 - STANDARDS FOR PROTECTION AGAINST IONIZING RADIATION › Section R9-7-425 - Use of Individual Respiratory Protection Equipment

Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 28, July 12, 2024
A. If a licensee assigns or permits the use
				of respiratory protection equipment to limit the intake of radioactive
				material,
1. Except as provided in subsection
				(A)(2), the licensee shall use only respiratory protection equipment that is
				tested and certified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and
				Health (NIOSH).
2. If the licensee
				wishes to use equipment that has not been tested or certified by NIOSH, or for
				which there is no schedule for testing or certification, the licensee shall
				submit an application to the Department and request authorization for use of
				this equipment, except as otherwise provided in this Section. The licensee
				shall provide evidence with the application that the material and performance
				characteristics of the equipment provide the asserted degree of protection
				under anticipated conditions of use. The licensee shall demonstrate the degree
				of protection by providing reliable test information.
3. The licensee shall implement and maintain
				a respiratory protection program that includes:
a. Air sampling sufficient to identify the
				potential hazard, permit proper equipment selection, and estimate
				doses;
b. Surveys and bioassays, as
				necessary, to evaluate actual intakes;
c. Testing of respirators for operability
				(user seal check for face sealing devices and functional check for other
				devices) immediately before each use;
d. Written procedures regarding:
i. Monitoring, including air sampling and
				bioassays;
ii. Supervision and
				training of respirator users;
iii.
				Fit testing;
iv. Respirator
				selection;
v. Breathing air
				quality;
vi. Inventory and
				control;
vii. Storage, issuance,
				maintenance, repair, testing, and quality assurance of respiratory protection
				equipment;
viii. Recordkeeping;
				and
ix. Limitations on periods of
				respirator use and relief from respirator use;
e. Determination by a physician that each
				individual user is able to use respiratory protection equipment:
i. Before the initial fitting of a
				face-sealing respirator;
ii. Before
				the first field use of a non-face-sealing respirator, and
iii. Every 12 months after initial fitting or
				first use, or periodically at a frequency determined by a physician;
				and
f. Fit testing, with
				a fit factor => 10 times the APF for a negative pressure device and a fit
				factor =>x 500 for any positive pressure, continuous flow, and
				pressure-demand device, before the first field use of tight-fitting,
				face-sealing respirators and periodically after first use at least yearly. The
				licensee shall perform fit testing with the face piece operating in the
				negative pressure mode.
4. The licensee shall advise each respirator
				user that the user may 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 condition that might require relief.
5. The licensee shall consider manufacturer
				limitations regarding respirator type and mode of use. When selecting a
				respiratory device, 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 a manner that does not interfere with the proper operation of the
				respirator.
6. The licensee shall
				provide standby rescue persons 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. The licensee shall equip standby
				rescue persons with respiratory protection devices or other apparatus designed
				for potential hazards and anticipated conditions of use. The standby rescue
				persons shall observe or otherwise maintain continuous communication with the
				workers (visual, voice, signal line, telephone, radio, or other suitable
				means), and be immediately available to assist them in case of a failure of the
				air supply or for any other reason that requires relief from distress. The
				licensee shall provide at least one standby rescue person for every five
				workers, who is immediately available to assist any worker using this type of
				equipment and provide effective emergency rescue if needed.
7. The licensee shall supply
				atmosphere-supplying respirators 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 and included in the regulations of OSHA
				( 29 CFR
				1910.134(i)(1)(ii)(A) through
				(E), July 1, 2003, incorporated by reference
				and on file with the Department, containing no future editions or amendments).
				Grade D quality air criteria include:
a.
				Oxygen content (v/v) of 19.5-23.5%;
b. Hydrocarbon (condensed) content of 5
				milligrams per cubic meter of air or less;
c. Carbon monoxide (CO) content of 10 ppm or
				less;
d. Carbon dioxide content of
				1,000 ppm or less; and
e. Lack of
				noticeable odor.
8. The
				licensee shall ensure that no objects, materials, or substances, such as facial
				hair, or any conditions that interfere with the face-to-face piece seal or
				valve function, and that are under the control of the respirator wearer, are
				present between the skin of the wearer's face and the sealing surface of a
				tight-fitting respirator face piece.
9. In estimating the dose to individuals from
				intake of airborne radioactive materials, the licensee shall use the
				concentration of radioactive material in the air that is inhaled when
				respirators are worn, which is determined by dividing the ambient concentration
				in air without respiratory protection by the assigned protection factor. If the
				dose is later found to be greater than the estimated dose, the licensee shall
				modify the calculation using the corrected value. If the dose is later found to
				be less than the estimated dose, the licensee may modify the calculation using
				the corrected value.