IMPORTANT:

These requirements are in addition to the requirements found in other chapters:

• Airborne contaminants, chapter 296-841 WAC;

• Respirators, chapter 296-842 WAC.

1. (1) You must provide each employee with an appropriate respirator that complies with the requirements of this section, and require that employees use them in circumstances where exposure is above either permissible exposure limit (PEL) for benzene, including any of the following circumstances:

   1. (a) Employees are in an exposure control area;
   2. (b) Feasible exposure controls are being put in place;
   3. (c) Where you determine that exposure controls are not feasible;
   4. (d) Feasible exposure controls do not reduce exposures to, or below, a PEL;
   5. (e) Emergencies.

2. (2) You must provide employees, for escape, either:

   1. (a) Any full-facepiece organic vapor gas mask;

      OR

   2. (b) Any full-facepiece self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA);

      OR

   3. (c) A hood-style SCBA that operates in positive-pressure mode.
3. (3) You must use organic vapor cartridges or canisters on powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs) and negative-pressure air-purifying respirators.

4. (4) You must use only chin-style canisters on full-facepiece gas masks.

   Note:

   When other contaminants present a hazard, then you will need to use a filter or other combination sorbent cartridge that removes the additional contaminants.

5. (5) You must make sure respirator cartridges or canisters are replaced at the beginning of each work shift, or sooner if their service life has expired.

6. (6) You must make sure canisters on air-purifying respirators have a minimum service life of four hours when tested under these conditions:

   1. (a) A benzene concentration of 150 ppm;
   2. (b) A temperature of 25°C;
   3. (c) A relative humidity of 85%;

   4. (d) A flow rate of one of the following:

      1. (i) 64 liters per minute (lpm) for nonpowered air-purifying respirators;
      2. (ii) 115 lpm for tight-fitting PAPRs;
      3. (iii) 170 lpm for loose-fitting PAPRs.

7. (7) You must provide an employee a respirator with low breathing resistance, such as a PAPR or an air-line respirator when the:

   1. (a) Employee cannot use a negative-pressure respirator;

      OR

   2. (b) A licensed health care professional's (LHCP's) written opinion allows this type of respirator.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 49.17.010, 49.17.040, 49.17.050, and 49.17.060. WSR 18-22-116, § 296-849-13045, filed 11/6/18, effective 12/7/18; WSR 09-15-145, § 296-849-13045, filed 7/21/09, effective 9/1/09; WSR 07-05-072, § 296-849-13045, filed 2/20/07, effective 4/1/07; WSR 05-13-152, § 296-849-13045, filed 6/21/05, effective 8/1/05; WSR 05-01-172, § 296-849-13045, filed 12/21/04, effective 3/1/05.]