Washington Administrative Code › Title 296 - Labor and Industries, Department of › Chapter 296-307 - Safety standards for agriculture › FIELD OPERATIONS AND GENERAL REQUIREMENTS › Part G-1 - Rollover Protective Structures and Overhead Protection › Section 296-307-09810 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
Air Quality Index (AQI).
A
				  unitless index used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to
				  communicate air quality for several pollutants, including
				  PM2.5. References to the AQI used throughout WAC
				  296-307-09805 through 296-307-09860 means the "NowCast AQI for
				  PM2.5."
Note:
The EPA has proposed revisions to the
								AQI.1 DOSH will revisit chapter 296-820 WAC, and WAC
								296-307-098 Wildfire smoke, if the proposed changes are adopted.
(2)
Current
				  PM2.5.
The concentration of
				  PM2.5 for the most current hour available, calculated
				  using an hourly average of PM2.5 data.
Note:
The NowCast AQI as provided by the Washington state
								department of ecology, local clean air agency, or U.S. EPA is also acceptable
								to approximate current PM2.5.
(3)
Emergency response.
Rescue,
				  evacuation, utilities, communications, transportation, and medical operations;
				  when such operations are directly aiding firefighting; protecting public health
				  and safety; or actively protecting, restoring, or maintaining the safe and
				  reliable operation of critical infrastructure at risk.
(4)
High-efficiency particulate air
				  (HEPA) filter.
A filter capable of trapping and retaining at least 99.97
				  percent of all monodis-persed particles of 0.3 micrometers mean aerodynamic
				  diameter or larger.
(5)
NIOSH.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
				  of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. NIOSH tests and
				  approves respirators for use in the workplace.
(6)
NowCast.
The method used by
				  the EPA and the Washington state department of ecology to approximate the air
				  quality for the most current hour available by using a calculation that
				  involves multiple hours of past data. The NowCast uses longer averages during
				  periods of stable air quality and shorter averages when air quality is changing
				  rapidly, such as during a wildfire. The NowCast is generally updated every
				  hour.
(7)
PM2.5.
Solid particles and liquid droplets
				  suspended in air, known as particulate matter, with an aerodynamic diameter of
				  2.5 micrometers or smaller. Measured in micrograms per cubic meter
				  (µg/m3).
(8)
Wildfire smoke.
PM2.5 which includes emissions from planned and
				  unplanned fires in wildlands, wildland urban interface, agricultural
				  operations, or adjacent developed areas. Wildfire smoke contains a complex
				  mixture of gases and particulates. Fine particulates such as
				  PM2.5 are the primary pollutant of public and
				  occupational health concern in wildfire smoke.
(9)
Wildlands.
Sparsely
				  populated geographical areas covered primarily by grass, brush, trees, crops,
				  or combination thereof.
1 Federal Register Vol. 88, No.
					 18, Page 5558, January 2023:
					 https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2023-01-27/pdf/2023-00269.pdf.