New Hampshire Code of Administrative Rules
He - Department of Health and Human Services
Subtitle He-P - Former Division of Public Health Services
Chapter He-P 4000 - NEW HAMPSHIRE RULES FOR THE CONTROL OF RADIATION
Part He-P 4022 - SURVEYS AND MONITORING
Section He-P 4022.08 - Use of Individual Respiratory Protection Equipment

Universal Citation: NH Admin Rules He-P 4022.08

Current through Register No. 40, October 3, 2024

(a) If the licensee assigns or permits the use of respiratory protection equipment to limit intakes pursuant to He-P 4022.07, the licensee or registrant shall:

(1) Except as provided in He-P 4022.08(a) (2) , use only respiratory protection equipment that is tested and certified or had certification extended by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) ;

(2) Submit an application to DHHS/RHS for authorized use of equipment which:

a. Has not been tested or certified by NIOSH; or

b. Has no schedule for testing or certification;

(3) Include in the application specified in He-P 4022.08(a) (2) above 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;

(4) 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 appropriate, to evaluate actual intakes;

c. Testing of respirators for operability, including user seal check for face sealing devices and functional checks for other devices, immediately prior to each use;

d. Written procedures regarding:

1. Supervision and training of respirator users;

2. Monitoring, including air sampling and bioassays;

3. Fit testing;

4. Respirator selection;

5. Breathing air quality;

6. Inventory and control;

7. Storage, issuance, maintenance, repair, testing, and quality assurance of respiratory protection equipment;

8. Record-keeping; and

9. Limitations on periods of respiratory use and relief from respirator use;

e. A determination by a physician that the individual user is medically fit to use the respiratory protection equipment prior to:

1. The initial fitting of a face-sealing respirator:

2. 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

f. Fit testing, performed with the facepiece operating in the negative pressure mode, with a fit factor greater than 10 times the assigned protection factor (APF) for negative pressure devices, and a fit factor greater than 500 times the APF 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;

(5) Issue a written policy statement on respirator usage covering:

a. The use of process or other engineering controls, instead of respirators;

b. The routine, non-routine, and emergency use of respirators; and

c. The length of periods of respirator use and relief from respirator use;

(6) Advise each respirator user that the user may leave the area at any time for relief from respirator use in the event of:

a. Equipment malfunction;

b. Physical or psychological distress;

c. Procedural or communication failure;

d. Significant deterioration of operating conditions; or

e. Any other conditions that might require such relief;

(7) Use respiratory protection equipment within the equipment manufacturer's expressed limitations for type and mode of use and shall provide vision correction, adequate communication, low temperature work environments, and the concurrent use of other safety or radiological protection equipment;

(8) Use safety, radiological protection or other equipment in such a way as not to interfere with the proper operation of the respirator;

(9) Provide standby rescue personnel 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 himself or herself, with the following:

a. Respiratory protection devices or other apparatus appropriate for the potential hazards;

b. Continuous communication with the workers, by one or more of the following methods:

1. By sight;

2. By voice;

3. By signal line;

4. By telephone;

5. By radio; and

6. By other suitable means;

c. Immediate availability to assist the workers in case of a failure of the air supply or for any other reason that requires relief from distress; and

d. Sufficient numbers and immediate availability to assist all users of this type of equipment and to provide effective emergency rescue, if needed;

(10) Supply atmosphere-supplying respirators 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) ) , which contains:

a. Oxygen content (v/v) of 19.5 - 23.5%;

b. Hydrocarbon (condensed) content of 5 milligrams per cubic meter of air or less;

c. Carbon monoxide (CO) content of 10 ppm or less;

d. Carbon dioxide content of 1,000 ppm or less; and

e. Lack of noticeable odor; and

(11) Ensure that no objects, materials or substances, such as facial hair, or any conditions that interfere with the face to facepiece seal or valve function, and that are under the control of the wearer, are present between the skin of the wearer's face and the sealing surface of a tight-fitting respirator facepiece.

(b) In estimating 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 shall be initially assumed to be the ambient concentration in air without the respiratory protection, divided by the APF.

(c) If the dose to individuals from intake of airborne radioactive materials is subsequently found to be greater than the estimated dose, the corrected value shall be used.

(d) If the dose to individuals from intake of airborne radioactive materials is subsequently found to be less than the estimated dose, the corrected value may be used.

(e) DHHS/RHS shall impose restrictions in addition to the provisions of He-P 4022.07, 4022.08, and 4095, in order to:

(1) Ensure that the respiratory protection program of the licensee or registrant is adequate to limit doses to individuals from intakes of radioactive materials consistent with maintaining total effective dose equivalent ALARA; and

(2) Limit the extent to which a licensee or registrant may use respiratory protection equipment instead of process or other engineering controls.

(f) The licensee or registrant shall seek and obtain authorization from DHHS/RHS before using assigned protection factors in excess of those specified in He-P 4095.

(g) DHHS/RHS shall authorize a licensee or registrant to use higher protection factors only upon receipt and approval 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.

#5903, eff 2-1-95; ss by #6827, eff 8-6-98; ss by #8488, eff 11-18-05; ss by #8808, eff 1-24-07

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