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

Universal Citation: 180 NE Admin Rules and Regs ch 4 ยง 028

Current through September 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.

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