Total Outward Leakage of Face-Worn Products Used by the General Public for Source Control

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bergman, Michael ; Fisher E ; Myers W ; Portnoff L ; Ryan KJ ; Vollmer B ; Yang W ; Zhuang Z
• Description:
  Background: During Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, the general public used any face-worn products they could get to overcome the shortage of N95 respirators and surgical masks. These products, often not meeting any standards, raised concerns about their effectiveness in reducing the spread of respiratory viruses. Methods: This study quantified total outward leakage (TOL) of units from 9 face-worn product categories used by members of the general public. A benchtop system was devised to test 2 units from each category on 2 different-sized headforms with silicone elastomer skin. Each unit was donned 5 times per headform. Results: Both face-worn product category and headform size significantly affected TOL (p value < .05). The TOL of tested face-worn products varied from 10% to 58% depending on both model and headform size. Face-worn products donned on the medium headform had a higher mean TOL compared to those donned on the larger headform. Conclusions: Overall, single-layer cloth masks are the least effective measure for source control due to their highest TOL among the tested face-worn products. Three-layer disposable face masks may be a favorable option for source control among the public. A standard should be developed for face-worn product design and manufacturing to accommodate different facial sizes. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aerosols Communicable Diseases Filtration Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Public Health Respiratory Protective Devices Safety
• Keywords:
  Aerosol Particles Author Keywords: ASTM COVID-19 Face Covering Face Masks Infection Prevention Mask Personal Protective Equipment PPE Public Health Respiratory Protection

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• ISSN:
  0196-6553
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Pennsylvania ; Philadelphia Region [OSHA] ; West Virginia
• 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:
  239-244
• Volume:
  53
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070193
• Citation:
  Am J Infect Control 2025 Feb; 53(2):239-244
• Contact Point Address:
  Ziqing Zhuang, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory, 626 Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh PA 15236
• Email:
  zaz3@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Infection Control
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:553e64868252ed3ccb408912ef2470d236dde6c36dfee1fb7ce4aac5bdc617b6485c6cfa4b02623e4af4a2e7c5213d5936113eb725c2a051c59b545fc9ad307b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208450/cdc_208450_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.65 MB ]