Nebraska Administrative Code › Topic - HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SYSTEM › Title 180 - CONTROL OF RADIATION › Chapter 4 - STANDARDS FOR PROTECTION AGAINST RADIATION › Section 180-4-028 - USE OF INDIVIDUAL RESPIRATORY PROTECTION EQUIPMENT

Current through June 17, 2024
This section addresses the use of respiratory protection
	 equipment.
028.01
RESPIRATORY PROTECTION EQUIPMENT.
If the licensee
  assigns or permits the use of respiratory protection equipment to limit the
  intake of radioactive material, according to 180 NAC
  4-027 the licensee must:
(A) Use only respiratory protection equipment
  that is tested and certified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety
  and Health (NIOSH), except as provided in 180 NAC
  4-028.01(B);
(B) Submit an application for authorized use
  if the licensee wishes to use equipment that has not been tested or certified
  by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), or for
  which there is no schedule for testing or certification, except as provided in
  180 NAC
  4-028.01. 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. This must be demonstrated either by licensee
  testing or on the basis of reliable test information.
(C) Implement and maintain a respiratory
  protection program that includes:
(i) Air
  sampling sufficient to identify the potential hazard, permit proper equipment
  selection, and estimate doses;
(ii)
  Surveys and bioassays, as necessary, to evaluate actual intakes;
(iii) Testing of respirators for operability
  consisting of a user seal check for face sealing devices and functional check
  for each other immediately prior to each use; and
(iv) Written procedures regarding:
(1) Monitoring, including air sampling and
  bioassays;
(2) Supervision and
  training of respiratory users;
(3)
  Fit testing;
(4) Respiratory
  selection;
(5) Breathing air
  quality;
(6) Inventory and
  control;
(7) Storage, issuance,
  maintenance, repair, testing, and quality assurance of respiratory protection
  equipment;
(8) Recordkeeping;
  and
(9) Limitations on periods of
  respirator use and relief from respirator use; and
(v) A determination by a physician that the
  individual user is medically fit to use the respiratory protection equipment:
(1) Before the initial fitting of a face
  sealing respiratory;
(2) Before the
  first field use of non-face sealing respirators, and
(3) Either every 12 months thereafter, or
  periodically at a frequency determined by a physician; and
(vi) Fit testing, with fit factor [GREATER
  THAN EQUAL TO] 10 times the assigned protection factor (APF) for negative
  pressure devices, and a fit factor [GREATER THAN EQUAL TO] 500 for any positive
  pressure, continuous flow, and pressure-demand devices, before the first field
  use of tight fitting face-sealing respirators and periodically thereafter at a
  frequency not to exceed one year. Fit testing must be performed with the
  facepiece operating in the negative pressure mode; and
(D) 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 conditions that might require such relief; and
(E) Consider limitations appropriate to the
  type and mode of use. When selecting respiratory devices the licensee must
  provide for vision correction, adequate communication, low temperature work
  environments, and the concurrent use of other safety or radiological protection
  equipment. The licensee must use equipment in such a way as not to interfere
  with the proper operation of the respirator; and
(F) Have 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 themself. The
  standby persons must be equipped with respiratory protection devices or other
  apparatus appropriate for the potential hazards. The standby rescue persons
  must observe or otherwise maintain continuous communication with the workers
  through 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. A sufficient
  number of standby rescue persons must be immediately available to assist all
  users of this type of equipment and to provide effective emergency rescue if
  needed; and
(G) Supply
  atmosphere-supplying respirators with respirable air of grade D quality or
  better as specified in the regulations of the Occupational Safety and Health
  Administration at
  29 CFR
  1910.134(i)(1)(ii) (2016).
  Grade D quality air criteria include:
(i)
  Oxygen content (v/v) of
  19.5-
  23.5%;
(ii) Hydrocarbon (condensed) content of 5
  milligrams per cubic meter of air or less;
(iii) Carbon monoxide (CO) content of 10 ppm
  or less;
(iv) Carbon dioxide
  content of 1,000 ppm or less; and
(v) Lack of noticeable odor; and
(H) Ensure that no objects,
  materials or substances, such as facial hair, or any conditions that interfere
  with the face--facepiece 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 facepiece; and
(I) Initially assume the concentration of
  radioactive material in the air that is inhaled when respirators are worn to be
  the ambient concentration in air without respiratory protection, divided by the
  assigned protection factor when estimating the dose to individuals from intake
  of airborne radioactive materials. If the dose is later found to be greater
  than the estimated dose, the corrected value must be used. If the dose is later
  found to be less than the estimated dose, the corrected value may be
  used.