Determination of known exhalation valve damage using negative pressure user seal-check methods on full-face respirators

Details

• Personal Author:
  Delaney, Lisa J. ; McKay R
• Description:
  Employees wearing respirators in industrial settings rely on users' positive- and negative-pressure seal checks to assess respirator fit. However, few studies have been performed to determine the adequacy of user seal checks in detecting poor-fitting or damaged respirators. In this study, the negative-pressure user seal check (NPUSC) method was evaluated for its ability to adequately detect known exhalation valve damage. The damage included a warped valve, a valve with three slits, and a valve with a small amount of glue. Twenty-six test subjects, wearing full-facepiece respirators, were asked to perform a NPUSC. Their responses as to whether they passed or failed the NPUSC were compared with fit-testing results from two quantitative fit-test methods. In addition, in-mask pressure differentials were measured during the performance of NPUSCs using equipment developed in the UC respirator laboratory. This method was developed as a more reliable technique to assess the ability of respirator wearers to properly conduct user seal checks. The data were analyzed to determine whether the NPUSC procedure is an effective method for detecting known exhalation valve damage. All test subjects reported passing the NPUSC with the undamaged valve. With the respirator equipped with the warped valve, 95% of test subjects reported passing NPUSCs. With the respirator equipped with the valve with adhesive, 65% reported passing. All fit factors were below the OSHA recognized pass/fail criteria, except one test with the respirator equipped with the slit valve. Results from the in-mask pressure measurements confirmed that 98% of all user seal checks were properly conducted. It was unable, however, to detect respirator leakage. In conclusion, NPUSC performed by the user rarely identified damaged exhalation valves. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Laboratories Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Respiratory System Safety
• Keywords:
  Equipment-reliability Face-masks Failure-analysis Laboratory-testing Leak-prevention Materials-testing Performance-capability Personal-protective-equipment Pressure-testing Respirators Respiratory-equipment Testing-equipment

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• Publisher:
  American Industrial Hygiene Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Florida ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5 ; Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  45
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20041447
• Citation:
  American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, May 20-25, 2000, Orlando, Florida. Fairfax, VA: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 2000 May; :45
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2000
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, May 20-25, 2000, Orlando, Florida
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:357d2b26318af94b864c14e5d6e65de5d3d85945a3646f7f2c13dec302169febf9cb76cb17f67d8e6b9de766f566364af7cfcea33021e1155c2a967ebade34e1
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/194018/cdc_194018_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.03 MB ]