Army Emergency Management Program - Federation of American ...

d. Equipment guidelines. The following guidelines have been developed to address key differences between policy
and doctrinal documents and standardize the execution of specific functions and tasks applicable to response and
recovery operations. Compliance with these guidelines is mandatory. Procedures for waiver requests are detailed in
chap 3.
(1) Guideline 1: Personal protective equipment . Army policy is that installations shall provide, employ, and
maintain PPE when competent authority determines that the use of such PPE is required for life safety and that such
use will lessen the likelihood of occupational injuries and/or illnesses. Installation emergency managers are responsible
for ensuring that PPE procured with VIPP MDEP funding meets applicable standards and that the users have
completed the required training and certification, as necessary. Functional areas with pre-existing PPE requirements
remain financially and procedurally responsible for these pre-existing requirements.
Note. Where the safety and health of the contractor’s employees are affected, the contractor is responsible directly to OSHA or the
appropriate State office, when OSHA has approved a State OSH Plan. Per AR 385–10, contractors are responsible for providing
their own respiratory protection programs and respiratory protective equipment.
(2) Guideline 2: Escape respirators. Escape respirators or escape masks of any type shall not be procured or
employed by the Army EM Program or during IPP sustainment due to the significant challenges in meeting applicable
OSHA and Army regulations, to include the RPP requirements in AR 11–34. Other challenges include initial and
sustainment medical surveillance, respirator selection, fit testing, and associated training requirements, as well as
equipment maintenance, shelf-life management, security, and accountability requirements.
(3) Guideline 3: Respiratory protection. All respiratory protection shall meet applicable OSHA regulations and
NIOSH guidelines per AR 11–34. All respirators identified for use during CBRN Incidents shall be NIOSH tested and
certified as approved for CBRN and list the manufacturer’s limitations for use. All respirators utilized at the incident
scene shall be fitted respirators only. Category 5 first receivers) conducting operations at the MTF may continue to
utilize hooded respirators as detailed in the OSHA best practices for the protection of hospital-based first receivers.
(4) Guideline 4: Collective Protection. Collective Protection of any design (fixed/installed, transportable) shall not
be procured or employed by the Army EM Program due to the lack of an executable concept of employment for such
equipment. Barriers to successful employment include the significant challenges in meeting the applicable OSHA
regulations and applicable life safety codes (see NFPA 1 and NFPA 101) coupled with the lack of networked detection
systems for an effective notification period, lack of effective facility/terrain decontamination capabilities (for egress),
lack of staged personnel decontamination capabilities and associated manpower, and the significant power, utility, and
consumables costs.
(5) Guideline 5: Individual protective equipment. The procurement or use of military IPE (for example, missionoriented
protective posture (MOPP) gear) for the missions, functions, and tasks detailed in this publication is specifically
forbidden at all domestic and foreign locations as defined in chapter 1. For the purposes of this guideline, military
IPE consists of (1) Joint Service Lightweight Integrated Suit Technology or similar protective ensembles utilizing a
protective fabrics or materials which do not meet the technical specifications and testing criteria identified by OSHA
regulations, including 29 CFR 1910.120Q, (2) M–40, M–42, M–50, and/or MCU–2/P series protective masks, and (3)
associated gloves, overboots, and related equipment. As noted in chapter 1, these guidelines do not apply to surety
operations.
(a) Capabilities and limitations. As with all presumptive identification capabilities, the goal is to have the same or
near identical results (within the specifications of the equipment) from 2 or more systems using at least two distinct
(different) detection methodologies in order to have a strong degree of confidence in the results. This concept has
guided the fielding of portable detection systems within the described programs. Each of these detection systems has a
specific range of detection capabilities and the majority of these systems are capable of vapor detection only. All users
must be aware that hazards may exist in vapor (or gaseous), liquid, and/or solid phases depending upon the type of
material and the applicable environmental conditions. These portable detection systems do not always identify hazards
down to the lethal limit or the immediately dangerous to life and health (IDLH) limits, depending upon the technology
in use. The portable detection systems are often subject to prolonged cycle times and testing durations before the
applicable sensor becomes saturated and provides false returns. Users must be made aware of these limitations and be
provided with the resources to identify these issues, to include agent fate specifications, based upon the specific
identified or presumed hazards present at the incident site.
(b) Portable radiological detection systems. Portable radiological detection systems will be constrained to gamma
and beta detection capabilities beginning in FY 10. All existing neutron and alpha detection systems fielded under
JPM–IPP and AEFRP to domestic locations are no longer sustained by the VIPP MDEP. The installation is responsible
for operation and maintenance, if they chose to retain these systems.
(c) Confirmatory testing capabilities. Army installations are reliant on existing mission-funded DOD, Joint, and
Service capabilities as well as the CDC’s Laboratory Response Network for confirmatory testing related to hazardous
materials. The Army has pre-coordinated laboratory capabilities to perform confirmatory testing on installation samples.
The Army EM Program will not procure or sustain field-level, portable confirmatory testing capabilities (such as,
HAPSITE, SENSIR IR, or RAPIDS) to Army installations.
(7) Guideline 7: Fixed Detection Systems. The fixed detection systems fielded to Army installations under JPM–IPP
140 DA PAM 525–27 20 September 2012