dust mask usage

["Archer, Joe" <archerj@wipp.carlsbad.nm.us>]

We are a facility where the potential for an accident is very low but
the consequences could be large. I would not shackle our workers with
respirators for a very low probability event even if I could take
precautions that are not legally required. However, I am interested in
evaluating the performance of paper/cloth dust masks worn around the
neck as a cheap, simple, and "reasonable" measure to minimize the
consequences of an unlikely, but potentially serious accident. I also
believe they could be justified as a cheap personal air sampler if
nothing else. Our IH guy has a problem with any inferrence that a dust
mask provides respiratory protection and opposes any argument that they
can provide any benefit from a worker protection standpoint.

My questions to all Radsafers is this "Does the idea of wearing a 50
cent surgeons masks around your neck and covering your mouth with it as
you exit a room where a potential release has occurred seem like a
reasonable suggestion?". Would you say it qualifies as ALARA?  Does the
fact that a dust mask does not guarantee a specific level of protection
invalidate it as a reasonable tool for mitigating an uptake? Would the
use of a rag be more likely to indicate an uptake than a nasal smear?
If you were in a room where a release occurred and you had a dust mask
handy, would you breath through the mask as you exited or would you not
breath through the mask on the grounds that it was not NIOSH approved?
Your comments are greatly appreciated.

Joe Archer
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