The Ability of Five Fit-Test Methods to Screen Out Poorly Fitting N95 Filtering-Facepiece Respirators

Details

• Personal Author:
  Campbell, David D. ; Coffey, Christopher C. ; Lawrence R ; Zhuang Z
• Description:
  Currently there are five fit-test methods which can be used for the fit-testing of N95 filtering-facepiece respirators. Two of these fit-test methods are qualitative (Bitrex and Saccharin) and three are quantitative (the PortaCount Plus corrected for filter penetration, the PortaCount Plus with the N95-Companion accessory (Companion), and generated aerosol). The purpose of this study was to determine the ability of each of these five fit-test methods to screen out poorly fitting N95 filtering-facepiece respirators. A panel of 25 subjects with varying face sizes tested eighteen different models of this type of respirator. The five fit tests were performed consecutively in a randomized order, with re-donning of the respirator occurring between each test. The results were compared to the 5th percentile of the simulated workplace protection factor (SWPF), an indicator of whether a respirator provided adequate protection to its wearer. The 5th percentile SWPF was determined from the total penetration (face seal leakage and filter penetration) of six tests using the PortaCount Plus, with re-donning between each test. A respirator was determined to provide adequate protection if the 5th percentile SWPF was greater than or equal to 10, the level of protection often expected for a half-mask respirator. The alpha (probability of rejecting an adequately fitting respirator) and beta (probability of accepting an inadequately fitting respirator) errors for each method were computed. The alpha error values ranged from 0.53 to 0.84 and the beta error values from 0.03 to 0.13. Based on these results, 3% of the subjects in this study passed the generated aerosol and PortaCount Plus tests with a 5th percentile SWPF of less than 10,7% with the Saccharin, 12% with the Companion, and 13% with the Bitrex tests. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aerosols Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Respiratory System Safety
• Keywords:
  Face Masks Filters Leak Prevention Personal Protection Personal Protective Equipment Respirators Respiratory Equipment Respiratory Protective Equipment Statistical Analysis
• Publisher:
  American Industrial Hygiene Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Louisiana ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 6 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  69
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20021360
• Citation:
  American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, June 2-7, 2001, New Orleans, Louisiana. Fairfax, VA: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 2001 Jun; :69
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2001
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, June 2-7, 2001, New Orleans, Louisiana
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:68b9565258cc7e8a93f865cc2bf2adeed21f03ac0681bd21fe0f672253e6f234bf5eee5bdfd47ed94ae24abb3b00f737e600fdf6d6f8686e25c986e955018b84
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/198714/cdc_198714_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.35 MB ]