1910.120(g): Engineering controls, work practices, and personal protective equipment for employee protection

(g) Engineering controls, work practices, and personal protective equipment for employee protection. Engineering controls, work practices, personal protective equipment, or a combination of these shall be implemented in accordance with this paragraph to protect employees from exposure to hazardous substances and safety and health hazards. 1 citations

(1) Engineering controls, work practices and PPE for substances regulated in subparts G and Z.

(i) Engineering controls and work practices shall be instituted to reduce and maintain employee exposure to or below the permissible exposure limits for substances regulated by 29 CFR part 1910, to the extent required by subpart Z, except to the extent that such controls and practices are not feasible.

Engineering controls which may be feasible include the use of pressurized cabs or control booths on equipment, and/or the use of remotely operated material handling equipment. Work practices which may be feasible are removing all non-essential employees from potential exposure during opening of drums, wetting down dusty operations and locating employees upwind of possible hazards.

(ii) Whenever engineering controls and work practices are not feasible or not required, any reasonable combination of engineering controls, work practices and PPE shall be used to reduce and maintain employee exposures to or below the permissible exposure limits or dose limits for substances regulated by 29 CFR part 1910, subpart Z.

(iii) The employer shall not implement a schedule of employee rotation as a means of compliance with permissible exposure limits or dose limits except when there is no other feasible way of complying with the airborne or dermal dose limits for ionizing radiation.

(iv) The provisions of 29 CFR, subpart G, shall be followed.

(2) Engineering controls, work practices, and PPE for substances not regulated in subparts G and Z. An appropriate combination of engineering controls, work practices and personal protective equipment shall be used to reduce and maintain employee exposure to or below published exposure levels for hazardous substances and health hazards not regulated by 29 CFR part 1910, subparts G and Z. The employer may use the published literature and SDS as a guide in making the employer's determination as to what level of protection the employer believes is appropriate for hazardous substances and health hazards for which there is no permissible exposure limit or published exposure limit. 1 citations

(3) Personal protective equipment selection.

(i) Personal protective equipment (PPE) shall be selected and used which will protect employees from the hazards and potential hazards they are likely to encounter as identified during the site characterization and analysis.

(ii) Personal protective equipment selection shall be based on an evaluation of the performance characteristics of the PPE relative to the requirements and limitations of the site, the task-specific conditions and duration, and the hazards and potential hazards identified at the site.

(iii) Positive pressure self-contained breathing apparatus, or positive pressure air-line respirators equipped with an escape air supply, shall be used when chemical exposure levels present will create a substantial possibility of immediate death, immediate serious illness or injury, or impair the ability to escape.

(iv) Totally-encapsulating chemical protective suits (protection equivalent to Level A protection as recommended in appendix B) shall be used in conditions where skin absorption of a hazardous substance may result in a substantial possibility of immediate death, immediate serious illness or injury, or impair the ability to escape.

(v) The level of protection provided by PPE selection shall be increased when additional information on site conditions indicates that increased protection is necessary to reduce employee exposures below permissible exposure limits and published exposure levels for hazardous substances and health hazards. (See appendix B for guidance on selecting PPE ensembles.)

The level of employee protection provided may be decreased when additional information or site conditions show that decreased protection will not result in hazardous exposures to employees.

(vi) Personal protective equipment shall be selected and used to meet the requirements of 29 CFR part 1910, subpart I, and additional requirements specified in this section.

(4) Totally-encapsulating chemical protective suits.

(i) Totally-encapsulating suits shall protect employees from the particular hazards which are identified during site characterization and analysis.

(ii) Totally-encapsulating suits shall be capable of maintaining positive air pressure. (See appendix A for a test method which may be used to evaluate this requirement.)

(iii) Totally-encapsulating suits shall be capable of preventing inward test gas leakage of more than 0.5 percent. (See appendix A for a test method which may be used to evaluate this requirement.)

(5) Personal protective equipment (PPE) program. A written personal protective equipment program, which is part of the employer's safety and health program required in paragraph (b) of this section or required in paragraph (p)(1) of this section and which is also a part of the site-specific safety and health plan shall be established. The PPE program shall address the elements listed below. When elements, such as donning and doffing procedures, are provided by the manufacturer of a piece of equipment and are attached to the plan, they need not be rewritten into the plan as long as they adequately address the procedure or element.

(i) PPE selection based upon site hazards,

(ii) PPE use and limitations of the equipment,

(iii) Work mission duration,

(iv) PPE maintenance and storage,

(v) PPE decontamination and disposal,

(vi) PPE training and proper fitting,

(vii) PPE donning and doffing procedures,

(viii) PPE inspection procedures prior to, during, and after use,

(ix) Evaluation of the effectiveness of the PPE program, and

(x) Limitations during temperature extremes, heat stress, and other appropriate medical considerations.