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Performance of Stockpiled Air-Purifying Respirators, Facility Two of Ten: Inhalation and Exhalation Resistance and Filtration Efficiency Performance [PPE CASE - P2020-0102]
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03/01/2020
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Series: NIOSH Numbered Publications
[PDF-2.12 MB]
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Alternative Title:PPE CASE - P2020-0102, Performance of Stockpiled Air-Purifying Respirators, Facility Two of Ten: Inhalation and Exhalation Resistance and Filtration Efficiency Performance
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Description:In the event of a national emergency, eighteen million U.S. healthcare workers may face high-consequence infectious disease exposures [NIOSH 2017]. Personal protective equipment (PPE), such as gowns, gloves, goggles, and respirators, is an important measure within the infection prevention hierarchy of controls. During public health emergencies, the sudden increase in PPE demand may exceed supplies for upwards of three months while manufacturers increase production [ASTHO 2013; Carias et al. 2015]; [Patel et al. 2017]. For example, during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, local respirator shortages were reported and, during the 2016 Ebola outbreak and the first U.S. fatality, there was a 10-200 fold increase in PPE orders [DHHS 2012; NIOSH 2018]. To prepare for these shortages, large quantities of PPE are strategically stockpiled at hospital, local, state, and federal facilities [NIOSH 1997].
Due to the decision to stockpile PPE, stockpile personnel and decision makers have sought to understand if stockpiled PPE is still viable following long-term storage. NIOSH does not require approval holders (i.e. those granted the approval from NIOSH) to designate a shelf life for particulate-only air-purifying respirators (APR), although some choose to do so and may provide this information on product packaging or online. There is limited published data to understand the viability of respirators that have undergone long-term storage with or without a designated shelf life. Over the past decade, the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) and state and local stockpile personnel asked NIOSH to evaluate the performance of stockpiled PPE as well as better understand storage conditions in U.S. stockpile facilities that store PPE.
In 2017, NIOSH established a PPE Stockpile Partnership consisting of 1) federal entities and stockpiles; 2) state, county, and city stockpiles; 3) hospital-related stockpile entities; and 4) a manufacturer trade association to inform the design and execution of an empirical study to evaluate stockpiled APRs. NIOSH obtained samples of PPE from geographically dispersed stockpiles with varying storage conditions.
This report details the inhalation/exhalation resistance and filtration performance of N95 filtering facepiece APRs collected from Facility Two of Ten. This facility is a state stockpile facility.
NIOSH found that 301 of 301 N95 filtering facepiece respirators stockpiled at Facility Two that were 8-11 years old maintained their inhalation and exhalation resistance and filtration performance in accordance with NIOSH performance standards.
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Pages in Document:18 pdf pages
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Citation:NIOSH [2020]. PPE CASE: Inhalation and Exhalation Resistance and Filtration Performance of Stockpiled Air-Purifying Respirators: Facility Two of Ten. By Greenawald, L., Moore, S., and Yorio, P. Pittsburgh, PA U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, NPPTL Report Number P2020-0102.
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Resource Number:P2020-0102
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