Factors Affecting Respirator Leak Sites and Shapes

Details

• Personal Author:
  Oestenstad RK
• Description:
  Quantitative fit tests were performed on 41 human subjects wearing three different brands of half face respirators to determine if the distribution of respirator leak sites and shapes on half mask respirators were affected by respirator brand, repetition of fit test, by fit test exercise, or by gender. The association of these factors and facial dimensions with respirator fit was investigated. Air flow streamline patterns were studied at elevated breathing rates. Although seven facial dimensions were found to have significant correlation coefficients with respirator fit, they were poor predictors of fit in both linear and logistic regression models. Correlation was strongly affected by gender. Only face length, of the dimensions currently used to define the half mask respirator test panel, was significantly correlated to fit. Analysis of leak site data indicated a very high proportion of cheek leaks and multiple leaks that included the cheek and a high proportion of nose leaks. Gender, respirator brand or fit test repetition did not affect the distribution of the leak sites. The authors suggest that these findings will contribute to the understanding of the distribution of respirator leak sites and shape, and will have both theoretical and practical applications. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Safety Sex Characteristics
• Keywords:
  Anthropometry Face-masks NIOSH-Grant Personal-protective-equipment Respirators Respiratory-protective-equipment Sex-factors
• Series:
  Grant Final Reports
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• 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:
  1-46
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00228270
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB95-269858
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, K01-OH-00085, 1994 Sep; :1-46
• Contact Point Address:
  Environmental Health Sciences Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham Uab Station Birmingham, AL 35294
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1994
• Performing Organization:
  University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  19891201
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• End Date:
  19940127
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:23bfc94c0ab7004b895a949aa01e13bce4125d6a881c0f797382519216f6d091e6be4cc56f56af490eaeca3e7a7627938b471f5f7aefc463a32124fca30b8e8c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/217846/cdc_217846_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.40 MB ]