Iowa Administrative Code
Agency 641 - Public Health Department
Chapter 40 - Standards for Protection Against Radiation
Rule 641-40.50 - Use of Individual Respiratory Protection Equipment
Universal Citation: IA Admin Code 641-40.50
Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 6, September 18, 2024
(1) If the licensee assigns or permits the use of respiratory protection equipment to limit intakes pursuant to 40.49(136C):
a. 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 otherwise noted
in this subrule.
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, including a demonstration by testing, or a
demonstration on the basis of reliable test information, that the material and
performance characteristics of the equipment are capable of providing the
proposed degree of protection under anticipated conditions of use.
c. The licensee or registrant shall implement
and maintain a respiratory protection program that includes:
(1) Air sampling sufficient to identify the
potential hazard, permit proper equipment selection, and estimate
doses;
(2) Surveys and bioassays,
as appropriate, to evaluate actual intakes;
(3) Testing of respirators for operability
(user seal check for face sealing devices and functional check for others)
immediately prior to each use;
(4)
Written procedures regarding monitoring, including air sampling and bioassays;
supervision and training of respirator user; fit testing; respirator selection;
breathing air quality; inventory and control; storage, issuance, maintenance,
repair, testing, and quality assurance of respiratory protection equipment;
record keeping; and limitations on periods of respirator use and relief from
respirator use;
(5) Determination
by a physician that the individual user is medically fit to use respiratory
protection equipment: before the initial fitting of a face-sealing respirator;
before the first field use of non-face-sealing respirators; and either every 12
months thereafter, or periodically at a frequency determined by a physician;
and
(6) Fit testing, with a fit
factor equal to or greater than 10 times the APF for negative pressure devices,
and a fit factor equal to or greater than 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.
d. 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 such relief.
e. 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.
f. Standby rescue
persons are required whenever one-piece atmosphere-supplying suits or any
combination of supplied air respiratory protection devices and personnel
protection equipment is used from which an unaided individual would have
difficulty extricating himself or herself. The standby rescue persons must be
equipped with respiratory protection devices or other apparatus appropriate for
the potential hazards. The standby rescue persons shall observe or otherwise
maintain continuous communication (visual, voice, signal line, telephone,
radio, or other suitable means) with the workers, and be immediately available
to assist the workers 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.
g. Atmosphere-supplying respirators must be
supplied 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 the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (
29 CFR
1910.134(i)(1)(ii)(A) through
(E)) . Grade D quality air criteria include:
(1) Oxygen content (v/v) of 19.5 to 23.5
percent;
(2) Hydrocarbon
(condensed) content of 5 milligrams per cubic meter of air or less;
(3) Carbon monoxide (CO) content of 10 ppm or
less;
(4) Carbon dioxide content of
1000 ppm or less; and
(5) Lack of
noticeable odor.
h. The
licensee shall 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.
i. In the estimation of the dose to
individuals from intake of airborne radioactive materials, the concentration of
radioactive material in the air that is inhaled when respirators are worn is
initially assumed to be the ambient concentration in air without respiratory
protection, divided by the assigned protection factor. 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.
(2) When estimating exposure of individuals to airborne radioactive materials, the licensee may make allowance for respiratory protection equipment used to limit intakes pursuant to 40.49(136C), provided that the following conditions, in addition to those in 40.50(1), are satisfied:
a. The licensee selects respiratory
protection equipment that provides a protection factor, specified in Appendix
A, greater than the multiple by which peak concentrations of airborne
radioactive materials in the working area are expected to exceed the values
specified in Appendix B, Table I, Column 3. However, if the selection of
respiratory protection equipment with a protection factor greater than the
multiple defined in the preceding sentence is inconsistent with the goal
specified in 40.49(136C) of keeping the total effective dose equivalent ALARA,
the licensee or registrant may select respiratory protection equipment with a
lower protection factor provided that such a selection would result in a total
effective dose equivalent that is ALARA. The concentration of radioactive
material in the air that is inhaled when respirators are worn may be initially
estimated by dividing the average concentration in air, during each period of
uninterrupted use, by the protection factor. If the exposure is later found to
be greater than initially estimated, the corrected value shall be used; if the
exposure is later found to be less than initially estimated, the corrected
value may be used.
b. The licensee
shall obtain authorization from the agency before assigning respiratory
protection factors in excess of those specified in Appendix A. The agency may
authorize a licensee to use higher protection factors on receipt of an
application that:
(1) Describes the situation
for which a need exists for higher protection factors, and
(2) Demonstrates that the respiratory
protection equipment provides these higher protection factors under the
proposed conditions of use.
(3) In an emergency, the licensee shall use as emergency equipment only respiratory protection equipment that has been specifically certified or had certification extended for emergency use by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Mine Safety and Health Administration.
(4) Further restrictions.
a. The licensee shall notify the
agency in writing at least 30 days before the date that respiratory protection
equipment is first used pursuant to either 40.50(1) or 40.50(2).
b. The agency may impose restrictions in
addition to those listed in these rules in order to:
(1) Ensure that the respiratory protection
program of the licensee is adequate to limit doses to individuals from intakes
of airborne radioactive materials consistent with maintaining total effective
dose equivalent ALARA; and
(2)
Limit the extent to which a licensee may use respiratory protection equipment
instead of process or other engineering controls.
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