Any person who is required to wear a tight fitting face piece during the course of their normal day-to-day work duties, or any person who is required to wear a tight fitting face piece for emergency response activities, must be fit tested to ensure an effective seal.
SASM performs quantitative respirator fit testing in accordance with CSA standard protocols.
SASM can fit test approximately 30-35 workers per day if testing at a company site. The entire process typically takes 15-20 minutes per mask.
Pre-Fit Testing Requirements
- Workers must have completed respiratory protection training, and
- The company needs to ensure that each worker being fit tested has completed an initial medical assessment prior to being fit tested.
- Workers must be clean shaven at time of testing.
Quantitative Fit Testing
A quantitative fit test measures the adequacy of a respirator’s fit by numerically measuring the amount of leakage into the respirator.
SASM uses the TSI PortaCount to measure the actual fit of a respirator. The PortaCount is suitable for use on all air purifying, air supplying and N, R and P series filtering face piece respirators. Quantitative fit testing does not rely on your sense of taste, smell, or irritation in order to detect the leakage. Instead, the PortaCount measures real-time fit while the user simultaneously performs a series of moving, breathing and talking exercises designed to simulate the same movements made in the field.
Deliverables
Every participant who successfully completes the fit test is provided with a pass report and wallet card indicating the respirator they were fitted, its size and the fit factor. Their employer will receive a copy of the same fit test pass report that they can use for record keeping purposes.
