Document X7402BN8b9aMYnaDrV2NrLV8x

p u' DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH. EDUCATION. AND WELFARE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL 944 CHESTNUT RIDGE ROAO MORGANTOWN. WEST VIRGINIA 26505 March 17, 1980 Mr. Fred B. Blood Director of Research and Development Seagull Company 2100 Camargo Road Louisville, KY 40207 Dear Mr. Blood: In response to your questions contained in your March 6, 1980 letter: 1. 0SHA is currently looking into the problems involving the use of single-use respirators against asbestos. N10SH is also concerned about the lack of a good quantitative fit test for single-use and reusable (disposable type) respirators. Our current test schedule (30 CFR Part 11) only contains tests for filtering efficiency for this type of respirator. Because of this, the Testing and Certification Branch is no longer recommending the use of single-use or disposable type reusable respirators against asbestos. 2. The current permissible exposure level is 2 fibers/ml (only fibers longer than 5 microns are to be counted). This means that the minimum requirement for respiratory protection is the use of a dust and asbestos approved respirator whenever the concentration is higher than 2 fibers/ ml. The following table (condensed from the 0SHA standard) may help in your selection of respirators. a. Air Purifying Respirators (half or full facepiece with respaceable dust and asbestos filters) Less than 10 X PEL b. Powered Air Purifiers Less than 100 X PEL c. Type C supplied-air, continuous flow or pressuredemand class respirators 100 X PEL and above 3. Unless the contractor has measured the concentration in a work area and has data to show that the operation consistently stays below a certain concentration, he must assume the worst case. Therefore, supplied LAM 004351 DPMC-10427 March 12, ] 10 NORTH MANAGEMENT TEAM SOUTH MANAGEMENT TEAM Attached is a copy of Martinez's strategy in handling their beard and hair policy. We will need to do something similar when we get closer to commissioning the DPMC respiratory quantitative fit-test unit. Attachment cc: M. T. Anderson F. G. Reitz J. D. Ransdell RPFrikg 7 \ * LAM 004352 DPMC-104