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M.
P. Schmitz and E.
L. Ahrenholtz
NIOSH Education and Information Division
The
Worker Protection Safety Standards that are to be initiated
Jan. 1, 1995, allow for substitution of personal protective
equipment with an agricultural cab that provides respiratory
protection. This protection must be declared in writing by
the manufacturer or by a governmental agency to provide at
least as much respiratory protection as the type of respirator
listed on the pesticide labeling.
In an
effort to offer this alternative, A.S.A.E. PM03-16 Environment
with Agricultural Cabs, is endeavoring to determine Industry
Standards that will cover all aspects of equipment and the
corresponding testing of that equipment. A.S.A.E. has approved
a filter test procedure outline for documentation as a draft
standard. This approval has endorsement by EPA, NIOSH, and
the state of California EPA committee members. The initial
testing has verified a viable procedure for testing and certifying
filter's capabilities and capacity for vapor protection.
Clean
Air Filter research and development of Agricultural Cab testing
procedures has resulted in the development of its "TEST CHAMBER"
facility. We are able to drive an entire agricultural vehicle
into our test chamber. By injecting a high concentration of
a test simulant into the chamber, the entire structure is
significantly challenged, and its integrity may be verified.
Initial vapor testing indicates that respirator level protection
can be achieved within Agricultural Cabs.
Clean
Air Filter petitions NIOSH and all interested organizations
to provide funding for the testing and documentation necessary
to develop Cab Classification and Certification Standards.
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Disclaimer
and Reproduction Information: Information in NASD does not represent
NIOSH policy. Information included in NASD appears by permission
of the author and/or copyright holder. More
NASD Review: 04/2002
This
research abstract was extracted from a portion of the proceedings
of "Agricultural Safety and Health: Detection, Prevention and
Intervention," a conference presented by the Ohio State University
and the Ohio Department of Health, sponsored by the Centers
for Disease Control/National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health.
M.
P. Schmitz and E. L. Ahrenholtz, Clean Air Filter, Defiance,
IA.
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