Page 20 - PPE GUIDELINE
P. 20
Guidelines on the Use of PPE Against Chemical Hazards
f. SCBA respirators can offer the highest levels of protection but are
cumbersome and expensive; and
g. Supplied air respirators can offer high levels of protection, but restrict
mobility.
Use respirators that can reduce the exposure to well below the permissible exposure
limits as stipulated in the USECHH Regulations. This could be achieved by
a) Choosing the assigned protection factor; and
b) Going through the respirator selection flowchart.
Assigned Protection Factor (APF)
Recommended assigned protection factors for respirator inlet coverings are given in
the table below:
Table 3: Recommended Assigned Protection Factor
Negative-pressure type Tight-fitting respiratory inlet covering
Half face-piece Full face-piece
1) Air purifying 10 100
2) Supplied-air
a) SCBA, demand type 10 100
b) Airline, demand type 10 100
Positive-pressure type Respiratory inlet covering
Loose- Tight fitting Helmet &
fitting face- Half Full hood
piece face-piece face-piece
1) Powered air-purifying 25 50 1000 1000
2) Supplied-air
a) SCBA
(i) Pressure demand - - >1000 -
(ii) Open or closed circuit - - 10000 -
b) Airline
(i) Pressure demand - 50 1000 -
(ii) Continuous flow 25 50 1000 1000
Department of Occupational Safety & Health, Ministry of Human Resources, Malaysia October 2005 20
