CFR > Title 42 - Public Health > CHAPTER I—PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES > SUBCHAPTER G—OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH RESEARCH AND RELATED ACTIVITIES (parts 80 to 87) > PART 84—APPROVAL OF RESPIRATORY PROTECTIVE DEVICES > SUBPART KK—Dust, Fume, and Mist; Pesticide; Paint Spray; Powered Air-Purifying High Efficiency Respirators and Combination Gas Masks (§84.1100 to §84.1158) > 84.1156—Pesticide respirators; performance requirements; general.

84.1156—Pesticide respirators; performance requirements; general.

Pesticide respirators and the individual components of each such device shall, as appropriate, meet the following minimum requirements for performance and protection:
(a) Breathing resistance test. (1) Airflow resistance will be measured in the facepiece, mouthpiece, hood, or helmet of a pesticide respirator mounted on a test fixture with air flowing at a continuous rate of 85 liters per minute, both before and after each test conducted in accordance with paragraphs (c) and (f) of this section.
(2) The maximum allowable resistance requirements for pesticide respirators are as follows:
Maximum Resistance
[mm. water-column height]
Type of pesticide respirator Inhalation Exhalation
Initial Final 1
Front- or back-mounted gas mask 70 85 20
Chin-style gas mask 65 80 20
Powered air-purifying 2 2 50 2 70 20
Chemical Cartridge 50 70 20
1 Measured at end of the service life specified in Table 14 of this subpart.
2 Resistance of filter(s), cartridge(s), and breathing tube(s) only with blower not operating.
(b) Facepiece test. (1) The complete pesticide respirator will be fitted to the faces of persons having varying facial shapes and sizes.
(2) Where the applicant specifies a facepiece size or sizes for his respirator together with the approximate measurements of faces they are designed to fit, the Institute will provide test subjects to suit such facial measurements.
(3) Any pesticide respirator part which must be removed to perform the facepiece fit test shall be replaceable without special tools and without disturbing facepiece fit.
(4) The facepiece or mouthpiece fit test using positive or negative pressure recommended by the applicant and described in his instructions will be used during each test.
(5) (i) Each wearer will enter a chamber containing 1,000 p.p.m. isoamyl-acetate vapor for a respirator equipped with a full facepiece, mouthpiece, hood, or helmet and 100 p.p.m. isoamyl-acetate vapor for a respirator equipped with a half-mask facepiece.
(ii) The facepiece, mouthpiece, hood, or helmet may be adjusted, if necessary, in the test chamber before starting the test.
(iii) Each wearer will remain in the chamber while performing the following activities:
(A) Two minutes, nodding and turning head;
(B) Two minutes, calisthenic arm movements;
(C) Two minutes, running in place; and
(D) Two minutes, pumping with a tire pump into a 28-liter (1 cubic foot) container.
(iv) Each wearer shall not detect the odor of isoamyl-acetate during the test.
(c) Silica dust test. Three completely assembled pesticide respirators will be tested with a mechanical-testing apparatus as follows:
(1) Temperature in the test chamber will be approximately 25 °C.
(2) Continuous airflow through the respirator will be 32 liters per minute for front-mounted, back-mounted, and chin-style gas mask pesticide respirators and chemical cartridge pesticide respirators, and not less than 115 (4 cubic feet) liters per minute to tight-fitting facepieces and 170 liters (6 cubic feet) per minute to loose-fitting hoods and helmets of powered air-purifying respirators.
(3) The test aerosol will contain 50-60 milligrams of 99 percent free silica per cubic meter of air.
(4) The particle size distribution of the test suspension will have a geometric mean diameter of 0.4 to 0.6 micrometer, with a standard geometric deviation less than 2.
(5) Front-mounted, back-mounted, and chin-style gas mask pesticide respirators and chemical cartridge pesticide respirators will be tested for 90 minutes and powered air-purifying respirators will be tested for 4 hours.
(d) Lead fume test. Three completely assembled pesticide respirators will be tested with a mechanical-testing apparatus as follows:
(1) Continuous airflow through the respirator will be 32 liters per minute for front-mounted, back-mounted, and chin-style gas mask pesticide respirators and chemical cartridge pesticide respirators and not less than 115 liters (4 cubic feet) per minute, for powered air-purifying respirators with tight-fitting facepieces, and not less than 170 liters (6 cubic feet) per minute for powered air-purifying respirators with loose-fitting hoods and helmets.
(2) The test aerosol will contain 15-20 milligrams of freshly generated lead-oxide fume, calculated as lead, per cubic meter of air.
(3) The fume will be generated by impinging an oxygen-gas flame on molten lead.
(4) Front-mounted, back-mounted, and chin-style gas mask pesticide respirators and chemical cartridge pesticide respirators will be tested for 90 minutes and powered air-purifying pesticide respirators will be tested for 4 hours.
(5) The total amount of unretained test suspension, which is analyzed and calculated as lead, shall not exceed:
(i) 0.43 milligram for any 90-minute test;
(ii) 4.8 milligrams for any 4-hour test made at 115 liters (4 cubic feet) per minute; or
(iii) 6.2 milligrams for any 4-hour test made at 170 liters (6 cubic feet) per minute.
(e) Dioctyl-phthalate test. (1) All canisters submitted for use with front-mounted and back-mounted gas mask pesticide respirators will be tested in an atmospheric concentration of 100 micrograms of dioctyl-phthalate per liter of air at continuous flow rates of 32 and 85 liters per minute for a test period of 5 to 10 seconds.
(2) The DOP leakage through the canister shall not exceed 0.03 percent of the ambient DOP concentration.
(f) Bench tests for pesticide respirators. (1) Bench tests will be made on an apparatus that allows the test atmosphere at 50 ±5 percent relative humidity and at room temperature (25°±2.5 °C.) to enter the canister or cartridge at predetermined concentrations and rates of flow, and that has a means for determining the test life of the canister or cartridge against carbon tetrachloride.
(ii) Canisters and cartridges will be tested as they are used on each pesticide respirator, either singly or in pairs.
(iii) Three canisters or cartridges or pairs of cartridges will be removed from containers and tested as received from the applicant.
(iv) Two canisters, cartridges, or pairs of cartridges will be equilibrated at room temperature by passing 25 percent relative humidity air through them at the following flow rates (expressed as liters per minute (l.p.m.)) for 6 hours:
Type of canister or cartridge Airflow rate,l.p.m.
Air-purifying canister 64
Air-purifying cartridge 25
Powered air-purifying with tight-fitting facepiece 115
Powered air-purifying with loose-fitting hood or helmet 170
(v) Two canisters, cartridges, or pairs of cartridges will be equilibrated at room temperature by passing 85 percent relative humidity air through them at the flow rates stated in paragraph (f)(1)(iv) of this section for 6 hours.
(vi) The equilibrated canisters or cartridges will be resealed, kept in an upright position at room temperature, and tested within 18 hours.
(2) Canisters and cartridges tested in accordance with the provisions of this section shall meet the requirements specified in Table 14 of this subpart.