Distribution of Faceseal Leak Sites on Half-Mask Respirators and Their Association with Facial Dimensions

Details

• Personal Author:
  Dillon HK ; Oestenstad RK ; Perkins LL
• Description:
  By using deposition of a fluorescent tracer aerosol during a standard quantitative fit test, faceseal leaks on one brand of half mask respirator worn by 73 human subjects were identified. The leaks were categorized according to their facial location and shape. The distributions of those categories were determined and the association of anthropometric facial dimensions with leak sites were tested. It was found that about 79 percent of all observed leaks occurred at the nose or were multiple leaks which included the nose. About 73 percent of all leaks approximated the shape of a slit rather than a round orifice. Males were much more likely to have slit like leaks than females. Significant associations were found for 25 percent of the tests between facial dimensions and leak site subsets. Only two significant associations were found for the facial dimensions used to define the Los Alamos respirator test panel. Gender was a factor in many of the significant associations. The amount of leakage through the chin area was higher than leaks at other sites. Significant correlation of facial dimensions and fit factor was found for three facial dimensions, none of which are used to define the respirator test panel. Evidence of air flow streamlining within the facepiece was noted on 22 percent of the subjects. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Respiratory System Safety
• Keywords:
  NIOSH-Grant Personal-protective-equipment Respirators Respiratory-equipment Respiratory-protective-equipment
• Series:
  Grant Final Reports
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Final Grant Report
• Place as Subject:
  Alabama ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OEP - Office of Extramural Programs
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-29
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00192785
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB90-162371
• Citation:
  Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, 1989 Mar; :1-29
• Contact Point Address:
  Environmental Health Sciences Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health Birmingham, AL 35294
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1989
• NORA Priority Area:
  Respirators Research
• Performing Organization:
  University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  19880401
• Source Full Name:
  Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
• End Date:
  19890331
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:694a723745f97b11a9fedfa322d74df3a21bf67e4719876ead96b0a83928db77fab77c24c3e6b4fb9b370af0d2a414a1068011f02a9f7bcced248c8bc08720a2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/217782/cdc_217782_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 738.65 KB ]