Fitting Characteristics of Eighteen N95 Filtering-Facepiece Respirators

Details

• Personal Author:
  Calvert CA ; Campbell DL ; Coffey, Christopher C. ; Jensen, Paul A. ; Lawrence, Robert B. ; Zhuang Z
• Description:
  Four performance measures were used to evaluate the fitting characteristics of 18 models of N95 filtering-facepiece respirators: (1) the 5th percentile simulated workplace protection factor (SWPF) value, (2) the shift average SWPF value, (3) the h-value, and (4) the assignment error. The effect of fit-testing on the level of protection provided by the respirators was also evaluated. The respirators were tested on a panel of 25 subjects with various face sizes. Simulated workplace protection factor values, determined from six total penetration (face-seal leakage plus filter penetration) tests with re-donning between each test, were used to indicate respirator performance. Five fit-tests were used: Bitrex, saccharin, generated aerosol corrected for filter penetration, PortaCount. Plus corrected for filter penetration, and the PortaCount Plus with the N95-Companion accessory. Without fit-testing, the 5th percentile SWPF for all models combined was 2.9 with individual model values ranging from 1.3 to 48.0. Passing a fit-test generally resulted in an increase in protection. In addition, the h-value of each respirator was computed. The h-value has been determined to be the population fraction of individuals who will obtain an adequate level of protection (i.e., SWPF =10, which is the expected level of protection for half-facepiece respirators) when a respirator is selected and donned (including a user seal check) in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions without fit-testing. The h-value for all models combined was 0.74 (i.e., 74% of all donnings resulted in an adequate level of protection), with individual model h-values ranging from 0.31 to 0.99. Only three models had h-values above 0.95. Higher SWPF values were achieved by excluding SWPF values determined for test subject/respirator combinations that failed a fit-test. The improvement was greatest for respirator models with lower h-values. Using the concepts of shift average and assignment error to measure respirator performance yielded similar results. The highest level of protection was provided by passing a fit-test with a respirator having good fitting characteristics. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Respiratory System Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Filtering-facepiece Face-masks Fit-test Models Personal-protective-equipment Protective-equipment Respirator Respirators Respiratory-equipment Respiratory-protection Respiratory-protective-equipment Simulated Workplace Protection Factor

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• ISSN:
  1545-9624
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies ; NPPTL - National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  262-271
• Volume:
  1
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20024599
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Hyg 2004 Apr; 1(4):262-271
• Contact Point Address:
  Christopher C. Coffey, Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NIOSH, Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, 1095 Willowdale Road, Morgantown, WV 26505
• Email:
  ccoffey@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2004
• NORA Priority Area:
  Research Tools and Approaches: Control Technology and Personal Protective Equipment
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:56a3983af520a2955553eec84b8873c7f0bfd6ff4f0db9349de876c3be37883c957b7608feed1752132cfe397a002b8c7407a57ac913c1e6eb01a938e43b7836
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/196333/cdc_196333_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 334.65 KB ]