Simplified pressure method for respirator fit testing

Details

• Personal Author:
  Foo S ; Han D ; Pilacinski W ; Willeke K ; Xu M
• Description:
  A proposed simplified pressure method for respiratory fit testing was described. The cartridge of the respirator being tested was replaced with a pressure test attachment consisting of a pressure sensor and air inlet valve. The subject was told to breathe normally. The pump was turned on, during which the subject held his breath for a few seconds while the air inlet valve was closed. The steady state pressure difference (DP) was recorded, after which the air inlet valve was reopened and the subject was instructed to breathe normally again. The flow ratio was calculated from the DP data. The dependence of the flow ratio on the DP reflected the leak flow, which was indicative of the degree of face seal fit. The method was evaluated using three volunteers wearing three sizes of two brands of respirators. The data were compared with fit factors determined by photometric and particle count tests. The flow ratios determined by the method were smaller than the fit factors determined by the photometric and particle count tests. The difference between the flow ratios and the fit factors was larger for the better fitted respirators. The authors conclude that the proposed method takes only a few seconds and can be used on the respirator that is actually worn by the worker. Further studies using more subjects and an optimized test system setup are needed in order to completely evaluate the method. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Movements Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Safety
• Keywords:
  Air-flow Health-protection Industrial-hygiene NIOSH-Grant NIOSH-Publication Pressure-testing Respirators Respiratory-protective-equipment
• ISSN:
  0002-8894
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  305-308
• Volume:
  52
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00201410
• Citation:
  Am Ind Hyg Assoc J 1991 Aug; 52(8):305-308
• Contact Point Address:
  Environmental Health University of Cincinnati Dept of Environmental Health Cincinnati, Ohio 45267
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1991
• NORA Priority Area:
  Respirator Research
• Performing Organization:
  University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19810701
• Source Full Name:
  American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal
• End Date:
  19920831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2c808eab3e3e72cd499c6941cf83be629adbce1989216757975f843373ac5055c62d6bf830874472afb70d0a6bef9d2f9622e57357621badf31044a969ccf6bf
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/205604/cdc_205604_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 574.15 KB ]