Meet fit testing requirements
September 1st 2003

Respirator Fit Testing is now a legal requirement, TSI Quantitative Fit Testing Seminars can give you more information on how to ensure compliance Recent changes to COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) Regulations and Guidance mean that the HSE recommends Quantitative Fit Testing for all tight fitting masks. And COSHH and the HSE now make Quantitative Fit Testing a requirement for all users of tight fitting respirators. At present many wearers are not complying with the legislation, but as this is a requirement through the 2002 Approved Code of Practice, compliance is essential to not only protect employees from harmful substances, but protect employers from harmful litigation. The legislation means that Quantitative Fit testing is now a must for people wearing RPE in many areas where it perhaps was not being routinely undertaken previously. Some of the areas where this is now necessary are fire brigades, including occupational brigades, local authority and airport brigades, local authorities and hospitals, the chemical, pharmaceutical and petrochemical industries and many more. In fact any wearers of full face masks should be quantitatively fit tested, and wearers of all tight fitting masks are recommended to use this method of Fit Testing. With this in mind, TSI Instruments is running a series of seminars in October and November aimed at new and current users. These will focus on the new UK legislative requirements for Fit Testing, and will introduce Quantitative Fit testing as the recommended method of the COSHH Regulations. It will also give an insight into the theory of the Quantitative Fit testing method and also allow plenty of time for hands-on practical sessions, using TSIs PortaCount Plus Respirator Fit Tester. Speakers will include an expert from TSI Incorporated in the USA who have many years experience in Quantitative Fit testing and its application to a wide range of respiratory devices. Sessions are as follows: Tues 4th November - Southampton Wed 5th November - Hemel Hempstead Thursday 6th November - Maidstone This is an all day seminar, with a charge of 47 to include lunch, refreshments and seminar notes. The good news is that TSI Instruments is offering a 500 discount voucher to anyone attending a seminar this will be redeemable against the purchase of a PortaCount Plus Respirator Fit Tester, subject to the purchase being made within 30 days of attending a seminar. The PortaCount Plus Respirator Fit Tester is an easy, quick and hassle free way to reliably fit test a wide range of respiratory protection. It eliminates the guesswork associated with other forms of fit testing, that depend on a persons chemical sensitivity rather than measuring the actual fit of masks and respirators. Existing qualitative fit test methods like irritant smoke and banana oil are inherently limited to pass/fail levels equal to a fit factor of 100. The fit factor is the measure of how well a particular face piece seals against the wearers face, and the higher the fit factor the better the fit. Quantitative Fit Testing has minimum recommended fit factors much higher than those for qualitative fit testing, for example the minimum recommended fit factor for Full face masks under the new COSHH regulations is 2000. This numerical measurement is derived from the ratio between the particles inside and outside the mask. The PortaCount could also be considered as a training tool the real time fit factor display allows testers to demonstrate to a wearer the effects of proper and improper donning and selection of a respirator. A true fit test involves measuring mask fit under conditions that approximate actual fit, and this is just what the PortaCount does. The PortaCount Plus measures fit while the wearer simultaneously performs a series of moving, breathing and talking exercises designed to simulate the same movements made in normal use. The entire fit test routine is rigorous and thorough, covering all the parameters demanded by industries using RPE. Other fit test methods estimate the fit while the wearer holds their breath and remains motionless not a very convincing simulation of a real life situation! So, rather than Fit testing being something that some employers are doing as an additional benefit for RPE wearers, Quantitative Fit Testing is now a must for all wearers of all tight fitting masks.

More articles from TSI Instruments Ltd: