Reducing Respirator Fit-Test Errors: A Multi-Donning Approach

Details

• Personal Author:
  Campbell, David D. ; Coffey, Christopher C. ; Jensen P ; Zhuang Z
• Description:
  Because fit-testing is the only assurance that an individual has an adequately protecting respirator, the error rates of current fit-tests are of concern. Previous laboratory studies with filtering-facepiece respirators have found significant fit-test error rates. The alpha error (failing a respirator/subject combination that should pass) ranged from 51 to 84 percent. The beta error (passing a respirator/subject combination that should fail) ranged from 3 to II percent. High error rates can result in individuals being assigned inadequately fitting respirators. These high errors also cause the fit-tests to yield inconsistent results which can cause the meaningfulness of the test to be questioned. In order to reduce the alpha and beta error inherent in current fit-test methods, a new approach to fit-testing filtering-facepiece respirators is proposed for consideration. Unlike current fit-tests which use a single donning of the respirator, the proposed test involves multiple donnings in order to reduce the element of chance in the fit-test result. And, unlike current fit-tests that measure only face seal leakage, the proposed test is based on a measurement of total leakage (faceseal plus filter). Utilizing total respirator leakage can result in simpler, quantitative fit-test instrumentation and a fit-test that is more relevant to the workplace. Analysis is presented that indicates the proposed multi-donning fit-test has the potential to simultaneously reduce both the alpha error and the beta error to half that of current fit-tests. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Laboratories Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Respiratory System Safety
• Keywords:
  Filters Laboratory-testing Leak-prevention Personal-protective-equipment Protective-equipment Respirators Respiratory-equipment
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• Publisher:
  American Industrial Hygiene Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 9 ; Pennsylvania ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies ; PRL - Pittsburgh Research Laboratory
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  97
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20022548
• Citation:
  American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, June 1-6, 2002, San Diego, California. Fairfax, VA: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 2002 Jun; :97
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2002
• NORA Priority Area:
  Research Tools and Approaches: Control Technology and Personal Protective Equipment
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, June 1-6, 2002, San Diego, California
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c38d08e64f3d3867f6a72d4b5e50a293495bd516043c025b563d3d382e4d8e8ccc238450c33d1bfe337c5ff532448290fb7413735edc6b20078417c2ebc89855
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/220554/cdc_220554_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 488.29 KB ]