Legislation and Purpose of Face Fit Testing

The COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) Regulations include a requirement that the initial selection process for all tight-fitting facepieces should include face-fit testing to ensure the wearer has a correctly fitting device. Fit Testing is also required under the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations and the Control of Lead at Work Regulations. RPE Fit Testing is required for all tight-fitting facepieces including all filtering facepieces (disposable face masks), half masks and full-face masks. This includes negative pressure full-face masks as well as power-assisted full masks, and both self-contained and air-fed breathing apparatus.

New HSE Fit Testing Guidance INDG 479

In April 2019, HSE’s Information Document HSE282/28 was replaced by a new guidance document, INDG 479. This new guidance covers fit testing methods, techniques and protocols including practical aspects, records and theory. This document is HSE Guidance and in following this guidance employers will normally be doing enough to comply with the law.

Download INDG 479 here from the HSE website (PDF)

New Fit2Fit Companion Documents

Alongside the launch of the new INDG 479 guidance, Fit2Fit launched the ‘Companion Series’ of Fit2Fit guidance documents. These companions are written to compliment the HSE guidance and give further practical advice to fit testers about the application of the various fit test methods. There are three separate companions to cover: Qualitative fit testing, Quantitative (Ambient Particle Counting) and Quantitative (Controlled Negative Pressure). These companions are available to download from the Fit2Fit website using the links below.

Download the Fit2Fit Companion for Qualitative Fit Testing

Download the Fit2Fit Companion for Ambient Particle Counting (Portacount)

Download the Fit2Fit Companion for Controlled Negative Pressure