(1) General. For employees who use respirators required by WAC 296-62-077 through 296-62-07747, the employer must provide each employee an appropriate respirator that complies with the requirements of this section. Respirators must be used during:

(a) Periods necessary to install or implement feasible engineering and work-practice controls;

(b) Work operations, such as maintenance and repair activities, for which engineering and work-practice controls are not feasible;

(c) Work operations for which feasible engineering and work-practice controls are not yet sufficient to reduce employee exposure to or below the permissible exposure limits;

(d) Emergencies;

(e) Work operations in all regulated areas, except for construction activities which follow requirements set forth in WAC 296-62-07715 (1)(g);

(f) Work operations whenever employee exposure exceeds the permissible exposure limits;

(g) The following construction activities:

(i) Class I asbestos work;

(ii) Class II work where the ACM is not removed in a substantially intact state;

(iii) Class II and Class III work which is not performed using wet methods, except for removal of ACM from sloped roofs when a negative-exposure assessment has been made and the ACM is removed in an intact state;

(iv) Class II and Class III asbestos work for which a negative-exposure assessment has not been conducted;

(v) Class III work when TSI or surfacing ACM or PACM is being disturbed;

(vi) Class IV work performed within regulated areas where employees who are performing other work are required to wear respirators.

(2) Respirator program.

(a) The employer must develop, implement and maintain a respiratory protection program as required by chapter 296-842 WAC, Respirators, which covers each employee required by this chapter to use a respirator.

(b) Employers must provide an employee with a tight-fitting, powered, air-purifying respirator (PAPR) instead of a negative-pressure respirator selected when an employee chooses to use a PAPR and the respirator provides the required protection to the employee.

(c) The employer must inform any employee required to wear a respirator under this section that the employee may require the employer to provide a tight-fitting, powered, air-purifying respirator (PAPR) instead of a negative-pressure respirator.

(d) No employee must be assigned to tasks requiring the use of respirators if, based on their most recent medical examination, the examining physician determines that the employee will be unable to function normally using a respirator, or that the safety or health of the employee or other employees will be impaired by the use of a respirator. Such employees must be assigned to another job or given the opportunity to transfer to a different position, the duties of which they can perform. If such a transfer position is available, the position must be with the same employer, in the same geographical area, and with the same seniority, status, and rate of pay the employee had just prior to such transfer.

(3) Respirator selection. The employer must:

(a) Select and provide to employees appropriate respirators as specified in this section, and in WAC 296-842-13005, in the respirator rule.

Make sure filtering facepiece respirators are not selected or used for protection against asbestos fibers.

(b) Provide employees with an air-purifying, half-facepiece respirator, other than a filtering-facepiece respirator, that is equipped with a HEPA filter or an N-, R-, or P-100 series filter whenever the employee performs:

(i) Class II and III asbestos work for which no negative-exposure assessment is available;

(ii) Class III asbestos work involving disturbances of TSI or surfacing ACM or PACM.

(c) Equip any powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR) or negative pressure air-purifying respirator with HEPA filters or N-, R-, or P-100 series filters.

(4) Special respiratory protection requirements.

(a) Unless specifically identified in this subsection, respirator selection for asbestos removal, demolition, and renovation operations must be in accordance with the selection specifications of this section and the general selection requirements in WAC 296-842-13005, found in the respirator rule. The employer must provide and require to be worn, at no cost to the employee, a full facepiece supplied-air respirator operated in the pressure demand mode equipped with either an auxiliary positive pressure self-contained breathing apparatus or a HEPA filter egress cartridge, to employees engaged in the following asbestos operations:

(i) Inside negative pressure enclosures used for removal, demolition, and renovation of friable asbestos from walls, ceilings, vessels, ventilation ducts, elevator shafts, and other structural members, but does not include pipes or piping systems; or

(ii) Any dry removal of asbestos.

(b) For all Class I work excluded or not specified in (a)(i) and (ii) of this subsection, when a negative-exposure assessment is not available, and the exposure assessment indicates the exposure level will be at or below 1 f/cc as an 8-hour time weighted average, employers must provide employees with one of the following respirators:

(i) A tight-fitting, powered, air-purifying respirator equipped with high-efficiency filters;

(ii) A full-facepiece supplied-air respirator operated in the pressure-demand mode equipped with either HEPA egress cartridges; or

(iii) An auxiliary positive-pressure, self-contained breathing apparatus.

(c) Whenever the employees are in a regulated area performing Class I asbestos work for which a negative exposure assessment is not available, and an exposure assessment indicates that the exposure level will be above 1 f/cc as an 8-hour TWA, employers must provide a full facepiece supplied-air respirator operated in the pressure-demand mode equipped with an auxiliary positive-pressure self-contained breathing apparatus.

EXCEPTION:

In lieu of the supplied-air respirator required by subsection (4) of this section, an employer may provide and require to be worn, at no cost to the employee, a full facepiece supplied-air respirator operated in the continuous flow mode equipped with either an auxiliary positive pressure self-contained breathing apparatus or a back-up HEPA filter egress cartridge where daily and historical personal monitoring data indicates the concentration of asbestos fibers is not reasonably expected to exceed 10 f/cc. The continuous flow respirator shall be operated at a minimum air flow rate of six cubic feet per minute at the facepiece using respirable air supplied as required by chapter 296-842 WAC, Respirators.

(5) Respirator fit testing.

(a) For each employee wearing negative pressure respirators, employers must perform either quantitative or qualitative face fit tests at the time of initial fitting and at least annually thereafter. The qualitative fit tests may be used only for testing the fit of half-mask respirators where they are permitted to be worn.

(b) Any supplied-air respirator facepiece equipped with a back-up HEPA filter egress cartridge must be quantitatively fit tested (see chapter 296-842 WAC, Respirators).

PDFWAC 296-62-07715

Respiratory protection.