This is not a SAFTENG requirement; this comes straight from OSHA’s (and EPA’s) HAZWOPER standard…
| 1910.120(q)(3)(iv)
Employees engaged in emergency response and exposed to hazardous substances presenting an inhalation hazard or potential inhalation hazard shall wear positive pressure self-contained breathing apparatus while engaged in emergency response, until such time that the individual in charge of the ICS determines through the use of air monitoring that a decreased level of respiratory protection will not result in hazardous exposures to employees.
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To make this clear and simple… the recon team or first entry team MUST use POSITIVE PRESSURE SELF-CONTAINED BREATHING APPARATUSES.
Until the IC knows four (4) things, they can NEVER make the call to reduce respiratory protection. Do you know the four things?
1) the chemical
2) the dose of the chemical the entrants will be exposed to
3) the atmosphere has at least 19.6% Oxygen, and
4) the dose is BELOW the IDLH for the chemical
Without knowing these four (4) pieces of data, the MUC formula is of NO USE to the IC or technicians!