October 15, 2003—Specified models of previously deployed Scott Health & Safety self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) may now be upgraded for protection against chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) agents using procedures and materials certified by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
The approved procedures and materials apply to upgrades of Scott Health & Safety’s Model 4.5 Air-Pak 30-minute, 45-minute, and 60-minute open-circuit, pressure-demand, self-contained breathing apparatus. The approval allows a qualified Scott Health & Safety technical representative to inspect, modify, and test previously deployed 4.5 models by following approved procedures to achieve CBRN protection, and to apply a label designating the respirator as having received a CBRN retrofit.
This first-ever upgrade approval signifies that the products receiving the upgrade are expected to protect firefighters and other emergency responders from CBRN-related gaseous, airborne particulate, and liquid respiratory exposures. The ability to upgrade previously purchased and deployed SCBA using this approval would provide an alternate method for emergency responders to achieve CBRN protection without purchasing new SCBA respirators.
All new certifications will be posted on the NIOSH Web page as soon as they are issued. For more information on the Scott approval or on NIOSH’s program for testing and certifying respirators, call NIOSH at 800/35-NIOSH (1-800-356-4674) or visit NIOSH’s National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory.
