Code of Practice s1

CODE OF PRACTICE RESPIRATORY PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

COMPANY Calgary AB

May 2003

1 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page INTRODUCTION ...... 1

RESPONSIBILITIES Employer, Supervisor, Workers ...... 2 Program Administrator ...... 3

RESPIRATORY HAZARD IDENTIFICATION ...... 4

SELECTION ...... 5

USE OF RESPIRATORS Where and When ...... 6 How ...... 7

TRAINING ...... 8

FIT TESTING ...... 9

INSPECTION, MAINTENANCE, CLEANING, AND STORAGE 10

2 INTRODUCTION

Purpose Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Legislation requires that an employer establish a Respiratory Code of Practice where respirators are used at work sites. The following procedures are based on the requirements established by the Canadian Standards Association standard CSA-Z94.4 “Selection, Use and Care of Respirators”.

Policy

It is the policy of COMPANY NAME to provide its workers with a safe and healthy work environment. The procedures in this program are designed to reduce worker exposure to airborne contaminants. The primary objective is to prevent excessive exposure to dusts, fumes, mists, gases, and vapors. This is accomplished as far as feasible by accepted engineering and work practice control measures. When effective engineering controls are not feasible, or while they are being implemented or evaluated, respiratory protection may be required to achieve this goal. In these situations, respiratory protection and training are provided to the workers.

3 RESPONSIBILITIES

Employer

It is COMPANY NAME responsibility to determine the specific applications that require the use of respiratory protective equipment. Employers must then provide proper respiratory protective equipment to meet the needs of each specific application. Workers must also be provided with adequate training and instruction on the selection, use and care of respiratory equipment.

Supervisor

Supervisors are responsible for ensuring that all personnel under their control are completely knowledgeable of the respiratory protection requirements for the areas in which they work. They are responsible for ensuring that all elements of this respiratory protection program, including respirator use, inspection and maintenance are followed.

Workers Workers must be familiar with the Code of Practice and respiratory protection requirements for their work areas. Workers are responsible for wearing the appropriate respiratory protective equipment according to instructions and for maintaining the equipment in a clean and operable condition.

4 RESPONSIBILITIES

Program Administrator The following individual has total and complete responsibility for the administration of the respiratory protection program:

Name: Ph: Title: Signature: ______

The Program Administrator:

 has the authority to act on any and all matters relating to the operation and administration of the respiratory protection program.

 ensures that the worksite is evaluated for respiratory hazards, develops worksite-specific procedures for this program, maintains records, and conducts a program evaluation.

 is responsible for selection, issuance, training, and fit testing of all respirators used in this company, including record keeping

5 RESPIRATORY HAZARD IDENTIFICATION

Exposure evaluation will be performed on a periodic basis to provide for continuing healthful environment for employees and to aid in proper respirator selection. In order to determine the exposure level, air samples of the work place; exposure assessment based on analogous processes; or professional judgement will be used.

The nature of airborne hazards are based on:

Form What form is the contaminant; dust, mist, fume, gas or vapour

Duration Is the contaminant always present, frequently present, or of Exposure only present in emergency conditions

Extent of Does the contaminant present an immediate danger to life or Hazard health (IDLH).

Concentration What is the concentration of the contaminant?

Tools used:  MSDS sheets  Industrial Hygienist’s assessment of the work area hazards  Air monitoring results

Records of all exposure assessments will be attached to this program.

6 SELECTION

Respirators will be selected and approved for use by the program administrator. The selection will be based upon the physical and chemical properties of the air contaminants and the airborne concentration likely to be encountered by the worker. The respirator program administrator will make a respirator available to new workers or workers transferred to a job that requires respiratory protection. Replacement respirators, cartridges, and filters will be made available as required. All respirators and replacement parts are NIOSH approved and will be used in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions.

Respirator selection involves reviewing each operation to: a) review what hazards are present b) select which type or class of respirators can offer adequate protection

7 RESPIRATOR SELECTION JUSTIFICATION Location:

O2 Concentration: Oil mist present

Form / Physical State: Concentration: Occupational Exposure Limits:

Hazard Ratio: Warning Properties: Odor Threshold: Irritation Threshold: Chemical Eye Irritation

Skin Absorption: IDLH Concentration:

Sorbent Efficiency:

Respirator Selected:

Person Making Selection: Signature: ______Date: ______

8 USE OF RESPIRATORS

Where and When

Area/Procedures Hazard Respirator Type When Used

How In order to achieve an effective seal on tight fitting respirators workers must be clean shaven where the respirator facepiece seals to the skin. All users of tight fitting facepieces will initially be fit tested and thereafter will perform a user seal check each time they put on the respirator. Workers must not use the respirator in a contaminated environment unless they successfully complete a user deal check. Positive Pressure Seal Check * Place the palm of your hand over the exhalation valve cover and exhale gently. If facepiece bulges slightly and no air leaks are detected between your face and the facepiece, a proper fit has been obtained. * If face seal air leakage is detected, reposition respirator on your face and/or readjust tension of the elastic straps to eliminate leakage. * Repeat above steps until a tight face seal is obtained.

9 USE OF RESPIRATORS

Negative Pressure Seal Check  For cartridges, place palms of hands to cover face of cartridge or open area of Filter Retainer to restrict air flow.  For filters, place thumbs onto the center portion of the filters, restricting airflow into the breathing tube of filters * Inhale gently. If you feel the facepiece collapse slightly and pull closer to your face with no leaks between the face and facepiece, a proper fit has been obtained. * If face seal air leakage is detected, reposition respirator on face and/or readjust tension of straps to eliminate air leakage. Repeat above steps until a tight face seal is obtained. * If you cannot achieve a proper fit, DO NOT enter contaminated area. See your supervisor.

Workers will leave the contaminated area:

- To replace the respirator filter or filtering facepiece upon detecting an increase in breathing resistance

- To replace the cartridge upon detection of an odour, taste or irritation

- To wash face and facepiece as necessary to prevent skin or eye irritation

- If the respirator malfunctions or is damaged

- Upon severe discomfort in wearing the respirator

- Worker experiences unusual symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, weakness, breathing difficulty, coughing, sneezing, vomiting, fever, and chills

10 RESPIRATORY PROTECTION TRAINING

Upon assignment to an area requiring respirators workers will be instructed in the:  extent of airborne contaminant exposures, the potential health effects, and warning properties of the contaminants  reasons for selecting a particular respirator, its capabilities and its limitations and an explanation of how it provides protection – by filtering the air, absorbing the gas or vapour, or providing clean air from an uncontaminated source  procedures on how to put on, wear and remove the respirator, and perform a user seal check  procedures for inspection, maintenance and storage of respirators  procedures for cleaning and sanitizing respirators  instructions on handling emergency situations  general requirements of the occupational health and safety legislation regarding respiratory protection  the code of practice for respiratory protective equipment at the place of work

Retraining will be given: - annually - when changes in the workplace conditions or the type of respirator used make the previous training obsolete - inadequacies in the employee’s knowledge are identified

Training Records will be attached to this program.

11 RESPIRATOR FIT TESTING

Fit testing is necessary for all negative or positive pressure tight-fitting facepiece respirators. Fit testing will be performed before a worker first wears a respirator in the work environment. COMPANY will follow the CSA Standard for qualitative fit testing.

Subsequent fit tests shall be conducted: - annually - if the worker’s physical condition changes (facial scarring, dental changes, cosmetic surgery, weight gain/loss) - conditions change so that different respiratory protection is required

Fit Test records will be attached to this program.

12 INSPECTION, MAINTENANCE, CLEANING AND STORAGE

Respirators will be properly maintained to retain their original effectiveness by periodic inspection, repair, cleaning, and proper storage. Manufacturers instructions will be followed.

Inspection The wearer of a respirator will inspect it prior to use and during cleaning according to manufacturer’s instructions. The facepiece, the inhalation and exhalation valve covers, the head straps and filter gaskets must be inspected and confirmed to be in good condition. The use of defective respirators will not be permitted.

Maintenance During cleaning and maintenance, respirators that do not pass inspection will be replaced or repaired immediately. Repair of the respirator will be done with parts designed for the respirator in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. No attempt will be made to replace components or make adjustments, modifications or repairs beyond the manufacturer’s recommendation. Replacement respirators are kept in the stores area and workers replace facepieces, filters, and cartridges as needed.

Cleaning Respirators not discarded after one shift use will be cleaned on a daily basis (or after each use if not used daily) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. After removal of the cartridges or filters, soap and water or respirator cleaning wipes can be used to clean the respirator. Solvents and alcohols should not be used to clean the respirator.

Storage After cleaning, the respirator should be placed in a bag and stored in worker’s lockers. No weight should be placed on the respirator.

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13 FACIAL HAIR POLICY

The amount of protection afforded by a respirator is called the protection factor. The actual protection factor achieved with tight fitting facepiece respirators depends mainly on the seal between the worker’s face and the respirator.

In order to obtain the best possible seal workers must be clean-shaven where the respirator facepiece contacts the face.

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