Evaluation of the Filtration Performance of 21 N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirators After Prolonged Storage

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bergman, Michael ; Shaffer RE ; Sinkule E ; Viscusi DJ
• Description:
  Background: Organizations are stockpiling respirators to prepare for an influenza pandemic. To better understand the effects of prolonged storage, this investigation evaluated the filtration efficiency of 21 different models of National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-certified disposable N95 filtering facepiece respirators. These respirators had been stored in their original packaging for a period of at least six years in research laboratories and dry warehouse facilities, ranging in temperature between 15 degrees C-32 degrees C and relative humidity between 20-80%RH. Methods: Filter penetration was measured using an abbreviated version of the NIOSH respirator certification test incorporating a polydisperse sodium chloride aerosol at 85 L/min. Results: Of the 21 respirator models tested, 19 models had both average penetration results of less than 5%. Mean initial penetration values ranged from 0.39% to 5.83%, while mean maximum penetration values ranged from 0.95% to 5.83%. There did not appear to be any correlation between the length of storage and failure to pass the filtration test. Conclusions: Results indicate that most N95 filtering facepiece respirators stored for up to ten years at warehouse conditions will likely have expected levels of filtration performance and the degree of filtration efficiency degradation is likely model specific. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Communicable Diseases Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Safety
• Keywords:
  Filter-fabrics Filter-materials Filters Infectious-diseases Personal-protection Personal-protective-equipment Respirators Respiratory-protective-equipment
• ISSN:
  0196-6553
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  NPPTL - National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  381-386
• Volume:
  37
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20034679
• Citation:
  Am J Infect Control 2009 Jun; 37(5):381-386
• Contact Point Address:
  Ronald E. Shaffer, Ph.D., Chief, Technology Research Branch, National Personal Protective Technology Lab (NPPTL), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 626 Cochrans Mill Road, Bui
• Email:
  RShaffer@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2009
• NORA Priority Area:
  Healthcare and Social Assistance
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Infection Control
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a654976b2b36085690eca8eb7300a6e5cf4d18ab27fc9e63c0fb29b2eabc3fd2944ec509af75ae671f60208ae1cb76460743283d8f10db94ddab2e92c6a360e4
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/186796/cdc_186796_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 119.71 KB ]