WAC 296-305-03001
Hazardous materials protection. (1)
Structural firefighting protective clothing shall not be used
as primary protection for hazardous material incidents except
as noted in the current edition of the Department of
Transportation Emergency Response guidebook, which is
incorporated by reference or shall be demonstrated by the
employer to be equally effective.
(2) Fire departments shall use the technical data package
provided by the clothing manufacturer when selecting the
hazardous chemical protection.
(a) The approach to selecting personal protective
clothing must encompass an ensemble of clothing items that are
integrated to provide a level of protection and the ability to
carry out emergency response activities.
(b) The following is a check list of components that may
form the chemical protective ensemble:
(3) Hazardous chemical protective equipment shall be
classified by performance and for the purpose of this chapter
are defined as:
(a) Vapor-Protective Suits (Level "A")
(b) Liquid Splash-Protective Suits (Level "B")
(c) Support Function Protective Suits
(4) Fire department personnel involved in hazardous
materials incident shall be protected against potential
chemical hazards. Chemical protective clothing shall be
selected and used to protect the respiratory system, skin,
eyes, face, hands, feet, head, and body.
(5) Vapor protective and liquid splash-protective suits
shall completely cover both the wearer and the wearer's
breathing apparatus. Wearing a SCBA or other respiratory
equipment outside the suit subjects this equipment to the
chemically contaminated environment, increasing possible
failure potentials and decontamination problems.
(6) Firefighters who engage in operations likely to
result in significant exposure to vapors that can reasonably
be presumed harmful by way of dermal exposure shall have
available and make appropriate use of vapor protective suits. Vapor protective suits shall meet the requirements of NFPA,
Standard on Vapor Suits for Hazardous Chemical Emergencies in
1991, 1990 edition, with the single exception that suits
meeting all but the flammability standard may only be worn in
atmospheres verified by means of appropriate air monitoring to
be at no more than 10% of the lower explosive limit (LEL).
(7) Prior to the use of vapor protective suits, liquid
splash-protective suits or support function protective suits,
the department shall consult the technical data package to
assure that the garment is appropriate for the specific
hazardous chemical emergency.
(8) Vapor protective suits and liquid splash-protective
suits shall not be used alone for any firefighting
applications or for protection from radiological, biological,
or cryogenic agents or in flammable or explosive atmospheres.
(9) Firefighters who engage in operations or who are
exposed to known chemicals in liquid-splash chemical
environments during hazardous chemical material emergencies
shall be provided with, and shall use, liquid
splash-protective suits. Liquid splash-protective suits shall
meet the requirements of NFPA, Standard on Liquid-Splash
Protective Suits for Hazardous Chemical Emergencies 1992, 1991
edition.
(10) Liquid splash-protective suits shall not be used
when operations are likely to result in significant exposure
to chemicals or specific chemical mixtures with known or
suspected carcinogenicity as indicated by any one of the
following documents if it can reasonably be expected that
firefighters in vapor protective suits would be significantly
better protected:
(a) N. Irving Sax, Dangerous Properties of Industrial
Chemicals, current edition.
(b) NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards, current
edition.
(c) U.S. Coast Guard Chemical Hazard Response Information
System (CHRIS), Volumes 13, Hazardous Chemical Data.
(11) Liquid splash-protective suits shall not be used
when operations are likely to result in significant exposure
to chemicals or specific chemical mixtures with skin toxicity
notations as indicated by the American Conference of
Government Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), Threshold Limit
Values and Biological Exposure Indices for 1988-1989 if it can
reasonably be expected that firefighters in vapor protective
suits would be significantly better protected.
(12) Support garments shall not be used in the hot zone
of any hazardous material operation.
(13) Firefighters assigned to functional support
operations outside the hot zone during hazardous chemical
emergencies shall be provided with and shall use support
function protective garments. Support function garments shall
meet the requirements of NFPA, Standard on Support Function
Protective Garments for Hazardous Chemical Operations 1993,
1990 edition.
(14) Support function protective garments shall not be
used for protection from chemical or specific chemical mixture
with known or suspected carcinogenicity as indicated by
(10)(a), (b), or (c).
(15) Support function protective garments shall not be
used for protection from chemicals or specific chemical
mixtures with skin toxicity notations as indicated in the
American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists,
Threshold Values and Biological Exposure Indices for
1988-1989.