Nevada Administrative Code › Chapter 459 - Hazardous Materials › RADIATION CONTROL › Standards for Protection Against Radiation › Section 459.349 - Precautionary procedures: Use of respiratory protective devices

Current through June 11, 2024
1. If a licensee uses respiratory protective
				  devices to limit intakes as required pursuant to NAC 459.347, the licensee
				  shall comply with the following requirements:
(a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph
				  (b), the licensee shall use only a respiratory protective device that is tested
				  and certified, or has had certification extended, by the National Institute for
				  Occupational Safety and Health.
(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. The application must include
				  evidence that the material and performance characteristics of the equipment are
				  capable of providing the proposed degree of protection under anticipated
				  conditions of use. The evidence must be acquired from tests performed on the
				  equipment by the licensee or based on information obtained from other reliable
				  tests that have been performed on the equipment.
(c) The licensee shall implement and maintain
				  a program for respiratory protection that includes, without limitation:
(1) A sampling of the air that is sufficient
				  to identify any potential hazard, permit the proper selection of equipment and
				  estimate doses;
(2) Surveys and
				  bioassays, as necessary, to evaluate actual intakes;
(3) Testing respiratory protective devices
				  for operability immediately before each use, including, without limitation,
				  user-performed seal checks for face-sealing respirators and functional checks
				  for all other respirators;
(4)
				  Written procedures regarding:
(I) Testing,
				  including, without limitation, fit testing;
(II) The supervision and training of users of
				  respiratory protective devices;
(III) Recordkeeping;
(IV) Monitoring, including, without
				  limitation, sampling air and bioassays;
(V) Selection of respiratory protective
				  devices;
(VI) Breathing air
				  quality;
(VII) Inventory and
				  control of respiratory protective devices;
(VIII) Storage, issuance, maintenance, repair
				  and quality assurance of respiratory protective devices; and
(IX) Limitations on periods of use of
				  respiratory protective devices and relief from use of respiratory protective
				  devices; and
(5) The
				  determination by a physician that each user of a face-sealing respirator or
				  nonface-sealing respirator is medically fit to use the respirator before the
				  initial fitting of a face-sealing respirator or before the first use of a
				  nonface-sealing respirator and:
(I) At least
				  once every 12 months after the initial fitting; or
(II) Periodically at a frequency that is
				  determined by the physician.
(d) The licensee shall perform fit testing
				  for a respirator before the first field use of a respirator with a
				  tight-fitting facepiece and not less than annually thereafter. The fit test
				  must be performed with the facepiece of the respirator operating in the
				  negative pressure mode and the fit factor:
(1)
				  For a negative pressure respirator must be greater than or equal to 10 times
				  the air pressure flow; and
(2) For
				  a positive pressure, continuous flow or pressure demand respirator must exceed
				  500.
(e) The licensee
				  shall advise each user of a respiratory protective device that the user may
				  leave the area at any time for relief from the use of the respiratory
				  protective device if:
(1) The device
				  malfunctions;
(2) He or she suffers
				  physical or psychological distress;
(3) There is a failure of communication or
				  procedures;
(4) There is a
				  significant deterioration in the operating conditions; or
(5) There are any other conditions that might
				  require relief from use of the device.
(f) The licensee shall:
(1) Consider limitations appropriate to the
				  type of respiratory protective device and the intended mode of use of the
				  respiratory protective device;
(2)
				  When selecting a respiratory protective device, provide for vision correction,
				  adequate communication, low-temperature work environments and the concurrent
				  use of other safety and radiological protection equipment; and
(3) Use equipment in a manner that does not
				  interfere with the proper operation of the respiratory protective
				  device.
(g) The licensee
				  shall provide standby rescue personnel when a person is using a one-piece
				  atmosphere-supplying suit or any combination of a supplied-air respirator and
				  personnel protective equipment from which the person would have difficulty
				  extricating himself or herself. The standby rescue personnel must:
(1) Be equipped with respiratory protective
				  devices or other equipment appropriate to the potential hazards.
(2) Visually observe the person who is using
				  a one-piece atmosphere-supplying suit or any combination of a supplied-air
				  respirator and personnel protective equipment or maintain continuous
				  communication with such person through visual, voice, signal line, telephone,
				  radio or other suitable means of communication.
(3) Be immediately available to assist the
				  person who is using a one-piece atmosphere-supplying suit or any combination of
				  a supplied-air respirator and personnel protective equipment in case of a
				  failure of air supply or for any other reason that requires relief from
				  distress.
(4) Be sufficient in
				  number and training to provide immediate assistance to the person who is using
				  a one-piece atmosphere-supplying suit or any combination of a supplied-air
				  respirator and personnel protective equipment and to provide effective
				  emergency rescue if needed.
(h) The licensee shall ensure that
				  atmosphere-supplying respirators are supplied with desirable air of grade D
				  quality or better as defined in Publication G-7.1,
Commodity
				  Specification for Air
(1997), and the provisions of
				  29 C.F.R. §§
											1910.134(i)(1)(ii)(A) to
				  1910.134(i)(1)(ii)(E),
				  inclusive. A hard copy of Publication G-7.1,
Commodity Specification
				  for Air
(1997), published by the Compressed Gas Association, may be
				  obtained at a cost of $32 for a member of the Compressed Gas Association or $58
				  for a nonmember at the Internet address
http://www.cganet.com/publication.asp
.
				  An electronic copy of the publication may be obtained free of charge for a
				  member of the Compressed Gas Association or at a cost of $44 for a nonmember at
				  the Internet address
http://www.cganet.com/publication.asp
.
(i) The licensee shall ensure that no
				  objects, materials or substances, including, without limitation, facial hair,
				  or any conditions which could interfere with the face-to-facepiece seal or
				  valve function and which are under the control of the user of the respirator
				  are present between the skin of the face of the user of the respirator and the
				  sealing surface of a tight-fitting facepiece.
(j) In measuring the dose to persons from the
				  intake of airborne radioactive material, the licensee must assume initially
				  that the concentration of radioactive material in the air that is inhaled when
				  a respirator is worn is the ambient concentration of radioactive material in
				  the air without a respirator divided by the assigned protection factor of the
				  respirator. If the licensee later finds that the actual dose is greater than
				  the estimated dose, the actual dose must be used. If the actual dose is later
				  found to be less than the estimated dose, the actual dose may be
				  used.