not talking about the intrinsic safety of the equipment, talkin about all the stuff (human factors) that the tech has to deal with- the human factors portion... a teletector, a transformer, a high volume sampler not to mention his or her obligation to ensure rad and industrial safety, survey documentation, crew control... walking up or down a stair requires one hand on the rail to ensure safe passage.. is his focus on the equipment or the people and so on.. is he in an SCBA... physical and mental stress due to use of a SCBA or any reaspirator, time limits...too many factors to mention. Often situations like these are neglected or assumed safe because its always been done this way and no one has gotten hurt so far.. this does not mean the situation is safe, just lucky.
The full respirator is just pure precation!!!! That is a red flag statement. Is the atmosphere IDLH, contaminated or not.. does he have an escape bottle...Relative to the scenario presented- its unsafe as far as human factors go.
Just the perspective from a safety professional and site safety officer.