Texas Administrative Code › Title 30 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Part 1 - TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Chapter 336 - RADIOACTIVE SUBSTANCE RULES › Subchapter D - STANDARDS FOR PROTECTION AGAINST RADIATION › Section 336.321 - Use of Individual Respiratory Protection Equipment

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) If the licensee assigns or permits the
				  use of respiratory protection equipment to limit the intake of radioactive
				  material:
(1) The licensee shall use only
				  respiratory protection equipment that is tested and certified by the National
				  Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), except as provided in
				  paragraph (2) of this subsection.
(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
				  for authorized use of this equipment, except as provided in this section. 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.
(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 others)
				  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 the
				  individual user is medically fit to use respiratory protection equipment
				  before:
(i) the initial fitting of a face
				  sealing respirator;
(ii) the first
				  field use of non-face sealing respirators; and
(iii) either every 12 months thereafter, or
				  periodically at a frequency determined by a physician.
(F) fit testing, with fit factor greater than
				  or equal to ten times the assigned protection factor for negative pressure
				  devices, and a fit factor greater than or equal to 500 for any positive
				  pressure, continuous flow, and pressure-demand devices, before the first field
				  use of tight fitting, face-sealing repirators 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.
(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 conditions that might require this relief.
(5) The licensee shall also 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.