This should not be new to many of you who have been reading my materials for years, but we continue to see Emergency Responders who, by default, “enter IDLH atmospheres” and have been fit-tested using a Qualitative Method. To set the record straight, this is not a Haywood thing or a SAFTENG thing; this is an OSHA bare-minimum thing…
From OSHA’s Respirator CPL (p.25)
(emphasis added by me)
Qualitative Fit Testing (QLFT) may be used to fit test negative pressure air-purifying respirators if they will ONLY be used in atmospheres LESS THAN ten times the PEL, since existing evidence only validates the QLFT protocols listed in Appendix A of the standard to identify respirators that achieve a fit factor of 100. For greater concentrations, Quantitative Fit Testing (QNFT) MUST BE USED.
RP CPL Table:
