Correlation Between Quantitative Fit Factors and Workplace Protection Factors Measured in Actual Workplace Environments at a Steel Foundry

Details

• Personal Author:
  Campbell DL ; Coffey, Christopher C. ; Jensen, Paul A. ; Lawrence, Robert B. ; Myers WR ; Zhuang Z
• Description:
  Past studies have found little or no correlation between workplace protection factors (WPFs) and quantitative fit factors (FFs). This study investigated the effect of good- and poor-fitting half-facepiece, air-purifying respirators on protection in actual workplace environments at a steel foundry and the correlation between WPFs and FFs. Fifteen burners and welders, who wore respirators voluntarily, and chippers participated in this study. Each subject was fit-tested with two respirator models each with three sizes, for a total of six fit-tests. Models and sizes were assigned this way to provide a wide range of FFs among study participants. Each worker donned the respirator twice per day (at the beginning of the shift and following the lunch break) for 2 days. Quantitative FFs were first obtained for each donning using the PortaCount Plus in a separate room. Without redonning the respirators, workers performed normal work for 1 to 2 hours, and WPFs were measured by collecting ambient and in-facepiece samples simultaneously. A second fit-test was conducted without disturbing the respirator. FFs were obtained by averaging the results from the first and second fit-tests. The resulting FFs had a geometric mean (GM) of 400 (range=10-6010) and a geometric standard deviation (GSD) of 6.1. Of the 55 valid donnings, 43 were good fitting (FFs100) and 12 were poor fitting (FFs<100). The WPFs had a GM of 920 (range=13>230,000) and a GSD of 17.8. The WPFs were found to be significantly correlated with the FFs (R2=.55 and p-value=.0001). Therefore, FF was shown to be a meaningful indicator of respirator performance in actual workplace environments. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Respiratory System Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Air-purification Air-purifiers Air-purifying-respirators Author Keywords: Half-facepiece Respirators In-facepiece Sampling Quantitative-analysis Quantitative Fit-test Respiration Respirators Respiratory-protection Respiratory-protective-equipment Work-environment Workplace-monitoring Workplace Protection Factors

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• ISSN:
  0002-8894
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  NPPTL - National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory ; DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  64
• Issue:
  6
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20023982
• Citation:
  Am Ind Hyg Assoc J 2003 Nov/Dec; 64(6):730-738
• Contact Point Address:
  National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 626 Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15236
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2004
• NORA Priority Area:
  Research Tools and Approaches: Control Technology and Personal Protective Equipment
• Performing Organization:
  West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19940701
• Source Full Name:
  American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal
• End Date:
  20060930
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f31c8ba21543cf6e1f401d8dd9081f601ae823405ef0c1b0d4b11a9249bbdd90479db2291cb194b0224c3f12aaa67758246612c3083001d80b2bc65686a9f317
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/196009/cdc_196009_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 337.67 KB ]