The effect of simulated air conditions on N95 filtering face-piece respirators performance

Details

• Personal Author:
  O'Shaughnessy P ; Ramirez JA
• Description:
  The objective of this study was to determine the effect of several simulated air environmental conditions on the particle penetration and the breathing resistance of two N95 filtering face-piece respirator (FFR) models. The particle penetration and breathing resistance of the respirators were evaluated in a test system developed to mimic inhalation and exhalation breathing while relative humidity and temperature were modified. Breathing resistance was measured over 120 min using a calibrated pressure transducer under four different temperature and relative humidity conditions without aerosol loading. Particle penetration was evaluated before and after the breathing resistance test at room conditions using a sodium chloride aerosol measured with a scanning mobility particle sizer. Results demonstrated that increasing relative humidity and lowering external temperature caused significant increases in breathing resistance (p < 0.001). However, these same conditions did not influence the penetration or most penetrating particle size of the tested FFRs. The increase in breathing resistance varied by FFR model suggesting that some FFR media are less influenced by high relative humidity. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aerosols Air Movements Air Pollutants, Occupational Humidity Occupational Health Particulate Matter Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Respiratory System Safety Temperature

  More +
• Keywords:
  Air-filters Air-flow Air-purifying-respirators Airborne-particles Airway-resistance Author Keywords: Filtering Face-piece Respirators Breathing Breathing Resistance Cyclic Flow Equipment-reliability Face-masks Particle Penetration Particulates Performance-capability Personal-protective-equipment Relative-humidity Respiration Respirators Respiratory-equipment Respiratory-protection Temperature-effects Temperature-regulation Testing-equipment

  More +
• ISSN:
  1545-9624
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Iowa ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  491-500
• Volume:
  13
• Issue:
  7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20047461
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Hyg 2016 Jul; 13(7):491-500
• Contact Point Address:
  Patrick O'Shaughnessy, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, College of Public Health, 100 CPHB, S320, Iowa City, IA 52242
• Email:
  patrick-oshaughnessy@uiowa.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• Performing Organization:
  University of Iowa
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• End Date:
  20290630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2bec0a4d26c07281789a33095908933ee79d7f897ecd075e6846ca75de515afb9dbb09d0183c02c0e549eb62004f98ac4a44696269e3e78a821627162fdc4949
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/202519/cdc_202519_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 968.82 KB ]