N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 12 §§ 56-8.3 - Regulated abatement work area entry and exit procedures

(a) Procedures. The following procedures shall be followed throughout the asbestos abatement project until satisfactory clearance air-sampling results have been achieved:

(1) Entry to the work area. All persons shall enter the regulated abatement work area through the personal decontamination system enclosure, or through an airlock when used with an approved remote decontamination unit.

(i) Entry/exit log. All persons who enter the regulated abatement work area or enclosure shall sign the entry/exit log, located in the clean room, upon every entry and exit.

(ii) Knowledge of procedures. All persons, before entering the regulated abatement work area or enclosure, shall read and be familiar with all posted regulations, personal protection requirements, including regulated abatement work area entry and exit procedures and emergency procedures. The entry/exit log headings shall indicate, and the signatures shall be used to acknowledge, that these have been reviewed and understood by all persons prior to entry.

(iii) Personal protective equipment. All persons shall proceed first to the clean room, remove all street clothing, store these items in lockers and don personal protective equipment as appropriate for the abatement work area. Two layers of protective clothing shall be donned for entry to regulated abatement work areas from remote personal decontamination systems. All authorized visitors shall also don NIOSH-approved respiratory protection for work areas with negative air established. Respirators and personal protective equipment shall be utilized by each authorized visitor for each separate entry into the regulated abatement work area. Respirators shall be inspected prior to each use and tested for proper seal using positive and negative pressure fit checks.

(iv) Tools. Persons wearing designated personal protective equipment shall proceed from the clean room through the shower room to the equipment room, where necessary tools are collected and any additional clothing shall be donned, before entry into the regulated abatement work area.

(2) Exit from the work area. All persons shall exit the regulated abatement work area through the personal decontamination system enclosure, or through an airlock when used with an approved remote decontamination unit.

(i) Removal of gross contamination. Before leaving the regulated abatement work area, all persons shall remove gross contamination from the outside of respirators and protective clothing by HEPA-vacuuming, or wet cleaning.

(ii) Exit. All persons shall exit the regulated abatement work area through the personal decontamination system enclosure, or through an airlock when used with an approved remote decontamination unit, except in case of an emergency, when an emergency exit or other means of escape may be used.

(iii) Regulated abatement work area exit procedures utilizing remote decontamination systems. If at any time a person has to travel through an uncontaminated area to access the personal or waste decontamination enclosure system, the person shall HEPA-vacuum and/or wet wipe his/her outer protective clothing while in the regulated abatement work area, then proceed into the airlock where he/she shall remove his/her outer clothing and don a clean set of protective clothing. He/she may then proceed to the personal or waste decontamination enclosure along a designated pathway. The walkway from the regulated abatement work area to the decontamination system shall be cordoned off to delineate it from public areas, as per section 56-7.5(d)(4) of this Part.

(iv) Removal of personal protective equipment. Persons shall proceed to the equipment room where coveralls, head covering, foot covering and gloves shall be removed. Disposable clothing shall be deposited into labeled containers for disposal. Reusable contaminated clothing, footwear, head covering and gloves shall be stored in the equipment room when not being used in the regulated abatement work area. Respirators shall not be removed during this process.

(v) Showering. Still wearing respirators, persons shall proceed to the shower area, clean the outside of the respirator and the exposed face area under running water prior to removal of the respirator, and fully and vigorously shower and shampoo to remove residual asbestos contamination. Respirators shall be washed thoroughly with soap and water. Some types of respirators shall require slight modifications to these procedures. An airline respirator with a HEPA-filtered disconnect protection shall be disconnected in the equipment room and worn into the shower. A powered air-purifying respirator facepiece shall be disconnected from the filter/power pack assembly prior to entering the shower.

(vi) Clean room. After showering and drying, all persons shall proceed to the clean room and shall don either street clothing if exiting the enclosure or clean personal protective equipment if returning to another regulated abatement work area.

Notes

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 12 §§ 56-8.3