U.S. flag An official website of the United States government.
Official websites use .gov

A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS

A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

i

System for Measuring Workplace Protection Factors



Details

  • Personal Author:
  • Description:
    The overall goal of this project was to develop and test a personal sampling system for measuring workplace protection factors (WPF) for gases and vapors. The system consists of a low-flow sampling pump with stroke counter, a solenoid valve for directing the sampling flow stream, a pressure transducer designed to sense differential pressure inside the respirator, and a multi-channel data-logging unit for recording the output from the pressure transducer as well as a transducer for measuring heart rate. The pressure transducer and solenoid valve are designed to allow sampling of the air inside the respirator face-piece during the inhalation portion of respiration, while the ambient environment is sampled during the exhalation phase. The system is relatively small and light-weight, allowing the unit to be worn easily on a worker's belt, and has adequate battery power to operate for at least a full 8-hour shift. The resulting personal sampling system should be a valuable tool for researchers interested in measuring WPFs for gases and vapors for the purpose of developing or evaluating Assigned Protection Factors (APF), or in exposure assessment for specific applications of respiratory protective equipment. The research conducted as part of this project has lead to the development of a valuable instrument for use in gathering WPF data for gases and vapors. The sampling system developed is small and light-weight, allowing the unit to be worn easily on a worker's belt, and has adequate battery power to operate for a full 8-hour shift. This technology should help to address research needs identified in the Final Rule of the Respiratory Protection Standard. Data gathered using the instrument could be used in developing and evaluating APFs for different types of respirators, or as an exposure tool for specific applications of respiratory protective equipment. It is intended that this research will serve as a strating point for a series of related projects following a logical progression that expands on the original work. The current proposal has lead to the development of a thoroughly characterized tool that is designed for evaluating respirators used in the workplace for protection from gases and vapors. [Description provided by NIOSH]
  • Subjects:
  • Keywords:
  • Series:
    Grant Final Reports
  • Publisher:
    National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
  • Document Type:
    Text
  • Funding:
    Grant
  • Genre:
    Final Grant Report
  • Place as Subject:
  • 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:
    1-28
  • NIOSHTIC Number:
    nn:20024324
  • NTIS Accession Number:
    PB2004-105287
  • Citation:
    Atlanta, GA: 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-000177, 2004 Feb; 1-28
  • Contact Point Address:
    William A. Groves, Ph.D, CIH, CSP, 223 Hosler Building, Industrial Health and Safety Program, Department of Energy and Geo-Environmental Engineering, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802-5000
  • Federal Fiscal Year:
    2004
  • Performing Organization:
    Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
  • Peer Reviewed:
    False
  • Start Date:
    19990930
  • Source Full Name:
    National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
  • End Date:
    20030929
  • Collection(s):
  • Main Document Checksum:
    urn:sha-512:7874be9f8cf19b19c332223143913f3908f8ecac19ff03fa15777b75237b109859c12da70f07bbf2db7973e4cb1c0d33288544b7d9f8b7fe64ebe334f66ddfb0
  • Download URL:
  • File Type:
    Filetype[PDF - 1.74 MB ]
PREVIOUS
ON THIS PAGE
Details
CDC STACKS serves as an archival repository of CDC-published products including scientific findings, journal articles, guidelines, recommendations, or other public health information authored or co-authored by CDC or funded partners.

As a repository, CDC STACKS retains documents in their original published format to ensure public access to scientific information.
BACK TO TOP