Respiratory protective devices for protection against airborne radioactive contaminants have been in use for approximately 20 years but have not been tested and approved by any government agency. The U.S. Bureau of Mines proposed approval program and current activities for such devices are discussed.This paper discusses the AEC Respirator Committee specifications for respiratory protective devices against highly toxic contaminants and some current activities to test commercially available devices in relation to these specifications. The Harvard test results and results of the LASL respirator fitting tests are given. Discussion of the Navy Mark V gas mask, and results of LASL tests with commercial masks at temperatures down to -30°F are presented. Limitations on selection and use of respirators are discussed.
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