Effect of Good- and Poor-Fitting Half-Mask Respirators on Protection Under Actual Workplace Environments at a Steel Foundry

Details

• Personal Author:
  Campbell DL ; Coffey, Christopher C. ; Colton CE ; Jensen, Paul A. ; Lawrence, Robert B. ; Myers WR ; Zhuang Z ; Campbell DL ; Coffey, Christopher C. ; Colton CE ; Jensen, Paul A. ; Lawrence, Robert B. ; Myers WR ; Zhuang Z
• Description:
  No correlation between workplace protection factors and quantitative fit factors (FFs) has been previously found. In a recent laboratory study, simulated workplace protection factors, based on total Freon exposure dose, were found to be correlated to fit factors using the PortaCount Plus (r-squre = 0.71) when poor-fitting respirators (FFs < 100) were included. The purpose of this new study was to investigate the effect of good- and poor-fitting half-mask, air-purifying respirators on protection under actual workplace environments at a steel foundry. 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. Models and sizes were assigned to have a wide range of FFs. Each worker donned the respirator twice a day (once at the beginning of the shift and once right after their lunch break) for two days. Quantitative FFs were first obtained for each donning using the PortaCount Plus in a clean room. Without redonning the respirators, workers performed normal work for one to two hours and protection factors were measured by collecting ambient and in-facepiece samples simultaneously. A second fit-test was conducted without redonning the respirator. The FFs from the first tests had a geometric mean (GM) of 340 (range=1O-19,000) and a geometric standard deviation (GSD) of 7. The second test FFs had a GM of 310 (range =9-23,000) and a GSD of 8. The GM of FFs for each subject ranged from 14 to 1500 (GSD range=1.4-1O). Of the 58 first test donnings, 44 were good-fitting (FFs >= 100) and 14 were poor-fitting. Based on the second fit-test results, 37 of the 44 donnings with good-fitting respirators had FFs >= 100 and IO of the 14 donnings with poor-fitting respirators had FFs<1 00. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Laboratories Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Function Tests Respiratory Protective Devices Respiratory System Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Air-purifying-respirators Exposure-levels Face-masks Laboratory-testing Respiration Respirators Respiratory-equipment Respiratory-function-tests Respiratory-protection Respiratory-protective-equipment Statistical-analysis Work-environment Workers

  More +
• Publisher:
  American Industrial Hygiene Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary ; Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Minnesota ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies ; DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies ; DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies ; DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health ; Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America ; North America
• Pages in Document:
  35
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20021496
• Citation:
  American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, June 2-7, 2001, New Orleans, Louisiana. Fairfax, VA: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 2001 Jun; :35
• 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:aca55afa6a8ff5763da1693e45c1f8544027aec41578e8566fd41b6054a18ca755384d950a98af5561e606dc1a4e91a9e09fbf065a5238c53fbbc40be68aa027
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/198784/cdc_198784_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 171.91 KB ]