The Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Division recently approved standards for personal protective equipment for first responders and radiological and nuclear detection devices.

The Science and Technology division serves as the DHS's primary research and development arm. The standards are designed to assist federal agencies, state and local officials and manufacturers in procurement decisions for this equipment, said DHS.

On Feb. 26, DHS announced acceptance of five standards from the National Fire Protection Association and three standards from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health for personal protective equipment for first responders. In partnership with DHS's Office of Domestic Preparedness, the Science and Technology Division adopted its first radiological and nuclear detectors standards Feb. 27. The PPE guidelines also were adopted by the Interagency Board for Equipment Standardization and Interoperability. The NFPA standards are available online in read-only format; NIOSH standards are available free online.

The four standards documents on detectors are available from IEEE (www.ieee.org) and from ANSI (webstore.ansi.org). The standards were developed in partnership with the Department's Office of Domestic Preparedness. The guidelines provide performance standards and test methods, as well as minimum characteristics for four classes of radiation detection equipment, ranging from hand-held alarming detectors to radiation portal monitors for cargo containers.

"Officials receiving DHS grants through the Office of Domestic Preparedness will use these standards as technical guidance on performance specifications for detectors," said DHS.
 
The following stardards are currently approved. See DHS's equipment standards page online for more information and updates.

Standards for Personal Protective Gear for First Responders

NIOSH Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Standard for Open-Circuit Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (December 2001)
This standard establishes performance and design requirements to certify Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus for use in chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) exposures for use by emergency responders

NIOSH Standard for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Full Facepiece Air Purifying Respirator (APR)**
The purpose of this standard is to specify minimum requirements to determine the effectiveness of full facepiece air purifying respirators (APR), commonly referred to as gas masks, used during entry into chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) atmospheres not immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH)

NIOSH Standard for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Air-Purifying Escape Respirator and CBRN Self-Contained Escape Respirator**
The purpose of this standard is to specify minimum requirements to determine the effectiveness of escape respirators that address CBRN materials identified as inhalation hazards from possible terrorist events for use by the general working population.

NFPA 1951, Standard on Protective Ensemble for USAR Operations
Answers the need for PPE for fire and emergency services personnel operating at technical rescue incidents involving building or structural collapse, vehicle accidents, confined spaces, trench cave-ins, scaffolding collapses, high-angle climbing accidents and similar incidents.

NFPA 1981, Standard on Open-Circuit Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus for Fire and Emergency Services
Specifies the minimum requirements for the design, performance, testing, and certification of open-circuit SCBA and combination open-circuit SCBA and supplied-air respirators for respiratory protection of fire and emergency responders where unknown, IDLH (immediately dangerous to life and health) or potentially IDLH atmospheres exist.

NFPA 1991, Standard on Vapor-Protective Ensembles for Hazardous Materials Emergencies
Specifies the minimum requirements for the design, performance, testing and certification of vapor-protective ensembles and individual protective elements for chemical vapor protection for fire and emergency service personnel. Additional optional criteria are provided for ensembles and individual protective elements that provide protection for chemical flash fire escape, liquefied gas, chemical and biological warfare agents, and chemical and biological terrorism incidents.

NFPA 1994, Standard on Protective Ensembles for Chemical/Biological Terrorism Incidents
Specifies the minimum requirements for the design, performance, testing, and certification of protective ensembles for fire and emergency services personnel operating at domestic terrorism incidents involving dual-use industrial chemicals, chemical terrorism agents or biological terrorism agents. The intent is that the ensembles would be available in quantity, easily donned and used, and designed for single exposure use.

NFPA 1999, Standard on Protective Clothing for Emergency Medical Operations
Specifies the minimum requirements for the design, performance, testing and certification of new single-use and multiple-use emergency medical protective clothing, including garments, gloves, footwear and face protection devices, used by fire and emergency services personnel performing patient care during EMS operations for protection against exposure to blood and body fluid-borne pathogens.

Standards for Radiation and Nuclear Detection Equipment

Copies of the complete standards are available from IEEE.  Search the IEEE Web site by standard number.

ANSI N42.32:  Performance Criteria for Alarming Personal Radiation Detectors for Homeland Security
Describes design and performance criteria along with testing methods for evaluating the performance of instruments for homeland security that are pocket sized and carried on the body for the purpose of detecting the presence and magnitude of radiation. This standard specifies the performance criteria for radiation detection and measurement instruments that may be used in a variety of environmental conditions.  The performance criteria contained in this standard are meant to provide a means for verifying the capability of these instruments to reliably detect significant changes above background levels of radiation and alert the user to these changes.

ANSI N42.33:  Radiation Detection Instrumentation for Homeland Security
Establishes design and performance criteria, test and calibration requirements, and operating instruction requirements for portable radiation detection instruments.  These instruments are used for detection and measurement of photon emitting radioactive substances for the purposes of detection and interdiction and hazard assessment. The informative annexes of this standard provide reference information.

ANSI N42.34:  Performance Criteria for Hand-Held Instruments for the Detection and Identification of Radionuclides
Addresses instruments that can be used for homeland security applications to detect and identify radionuclides, for gamma-dose rate measurement, and for indication of neutron radiation. This standard specifies general requirements and test procedures, radiation response requirements, and electrical, mechanical, and environmental requirements. Successful completion of the tests described in this standard should not be construed as an ability to successfully identify all isotopes in all environments.

ANSI N42.35:  Evaluation and Performance of Radiation Detection Portal Monitors for Use in Homeland Security
Provides the testing and evaluation criteria for Radiation Detection Portal Monitors to detect radioactive materials that could be used for nuclear weapons or radiological dispersal devices. Portal monitors may be used in permanent installations, in temporary installations for short-duration detection needs, or as a transportable system. These systems are used to provide monitoring of people, packages and vehicles to detect illicit radioactive material transportation, or for emergency response to an event that releases radioactive material.