42 C.F.R. § 84.181
Communication performance test—PAPR class PAPR100.
Cite as 42 C.F.R. § 84.181 (2026)
(a) Powered air-purifying respirators must be designed to allow for proper communication while worn.
(b) A Modified Rhyme Test
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will be used to test the wearer's ability to communicate efficiently.
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The Modified Rhyme Test is used in speech intelligibility experiments.
See https://www.nist.gov/ctl/pscr/modified-rhyme-test-audio-library.
(c) The communications requirement is met if the overall performance rating is greater than or equal to 70 percent.