SECTION 380:50-15-5. Pressure-demand supplied-air respirators

(a)   Pressure-demand supplied-air respirators or Powered Air Purifying Respirators shall be worn for all gross asbestos removal, excluding glovebag operations, if:

(1)   Air-monitoring results from the previous work shift are not available at the job site.

(2)   Any of the personal or area air samples indicate airborne fiber concentrations are at a level above which respirators with a lower protection factor would not be adequate, (29 CFR 1926.1101 Table 1, with the Permissible Exposure Limit changed to 0.01 fibers per cubic centimeter), provided the initial shift used to justify respirator downgrading shall be a minimum of seven hours of work involving the actual removal of asbestos.

(3)   An incident occurs with the potential for raising the airborne fiber concentrations to such a level.

(b)   Pressure-demand supplied-air respirators shall consist only of parts related to the MSHA/NIOSH-approved number. The contractor shall have on site manufacturer's specifications for supplied-air respirators.

(c)   Pressure-demand supplied-air respirators shall be provided by the contractor with a pressure gauge down-stream of the supply regulators to permit Department of Labor inspectors to determine whether pressure requirements are being met.

(d)   Pressure-demand supplied-air respirators shall be provided Grade "D" air that has been processed through a filtration apparatus to ensure that the following levels of contaminants are not exceeded:

(1)   Carbon monoxide, less than 10 parts per million. The contractor, at all times supplied air is being used, shall daily and at other times requested by DOL Inspectors, test the carbon monoxide alarm with 10 parts per million carbon monoxide test gas.

(2)   Hydrocarbons less than five milligrams per cubic meter. The supplied air shall be free of tastes, odors, smoke, and the ability to produce an oily film within the respirator face-piece.

(3)   Carbon dioxide, less than 1000 parts per million.

(e)   Pressure-demand supplied-air respirators must be provided with automatically engaging HEPA filter cartridges for emergency egress in addition to the required reserve air supply.

(f)   Pressure-demand supplied-air respirators shall not be required on subsequent containments of a single abatement project, provided:

(1)   The asbestos-containing materials are identical to previous containments of the same abatement project.

(2)   All of the personal and area air samples indicate airborne fiber concentrations are below levels at which respirators with a lower protection factor would be adequate, (29 CFR 1926.1101 Table 1, with the Permissible Exposure Limit changed to 0.01 fibers per cubic centimeter).

(3)   The abatement crews are substantially the same.

(4)   The number of workers on the crew have not increased by more than fifty (50) percent.

(5)   The contractor assumes responsibility for downgrading to a lesser protective respirator, and is subject to citation for serious violations if workers are exposed to greater concentrations than are allowed by Section 380:50-15-5(a)(2), based on the lower confidence limits of the personal monitoring results. It is not necessary to notify DOL of such downgrading.

[Source: Amended at 9 Ok Reg 3309, eff 7-27-92; Amended at 15 Ok Reg 3247, eff 7-13-98; Amended at 18 Ok Reg 3523, eff 9-14-01; Amended at 27 Ok Reg 1887, eff 7-1-10]