Pressure drop of filtering facepiece respirators: how low should we go

Details

• Personal Author:
  Kim J-H ; Powell JB ; Roberge RJ ; Sebastian JM ; Shaffer RE ; Ylitalo CM
• Description:
  Objectives: This study was undertaken to determine the mean peak filter resistance to airflow [R(filter)] encountered by subjects while wearing prototype filtering facepiece respirators (PRs) with low R(filter) during nasal and oral breathing at sedentary and low-moderate work rates. Material and Methods: In-line pressure transducer measurements of mean R(filter) across PRs with nominal R(filter) of 29.4 Pa, 58.8 Pa and 88.2 Pa (measured at 85 l/min constant airflow) were obtained during nasal and oral breathing at sedentary and low-moderate work rates for 10 subjects. Results: The mean R(filter) for the 29.4 PR was significantly lower than the other 2 PRs (p < 0.000), but there were no significant differences in mean R(filter) between the PRs with 58.8 and 88.2 Pa filter resistance (p > 0.05). The mean R(filter) was greater for oral versus nasal breathing and for exercise compared to sedentary activity (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Mean oral and nasal R(filter) for all 3 PRs was at, or below, the minimal threshold level for detection of inspiratory resistance (the 58.8-74.5 Pa/l×s(-1), which may account for the previously-reported lack of significant subjective or physiological differences when wearing PRs with these low R(filter). Lowering filtering facepiece respirator R(filter) below 88.2 Pa (measured at 85 l/min constant airflow) may not result in additional subjective or physiological benefit to the wearer. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Movements Air Pressure Laboratories Nose Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Respiratory System Safety Sense Organs
• Keywords:
  Air-flow Air-pressure Air-purifying-respirators Airway-resistance Author Keywords: Respirator Face-masks Filter Filters Humans Laboratory-testing Measurement-equipment Nasal-cavity Nasal Breathing Oral Breathing Performance-capability Personal-protective-equipment Physiological-measurements Physiological-testing Pressure-testing Respirators Respiratory-equipment

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• ISSN:
  1232-1087
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Minnesota ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  NPPTL - National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  71-80
• Volume:
  28
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046482
• Citation:
  Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2015 Jan-Feb; 28(1):71-80
• Contact Point Address:
  R.J. Roberge, National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory / NIOSH / CDC, Technology Research Branch, 626 Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15236 USA
• Email:
  dtn0@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• NORA Priority Area:
  Healthcare and Social Assistance
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ed3886691ea95cac71b7fa07f84f195855303118377f8fc072a3f618089915555d1b5f1731f989ebe212bf3ee6cd6bc8fca36e579bde9e9fec0d6768fe8f206e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/201530/cdc_201530_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 174.33 KB ]