New Technique to Evaluate Decontamination Methods for Filtering Facepiece Respirators

Details

• Personal Author:
  Horvatin M ; Rengasamy S ; Vo E ; Xu S ; Zhuang Z
• Description:
  Background: A major concern among health care experts is a shortage of N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) during a pandemic. One option for mitigating an FFR shortage is to decontaminate and reuse the devices. The focus of this study was to develop a new evaluation technique based on three major decontamination requirements: 1) inactivating viruses, 2) not altering the respirator properties, and 3) not leaving any toxic byproduct on the FFR. Methods: Hydrophilic and hydrophobic FFRs were contaminated with MS2 virus. In the solution-based deposition, the virus-containing liquid droplets were spiked directly onto FFRs, while in the vapor-based and aerosol-based depositions, the viral particles were loaded onto FFRs using a bio-aerosol testing system. Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) and moist heat (MH) decontamination methods were used for inactivation of viruses applied to FFRs. Results: Both UVGI and MH methods inactivated viruses (> 5-log reduction of MS2 virus; in 92% of both method experiments, the virus was reduced to levels below the detection limit), did not alter the respirator properties, and did not leave any toxic byproduct on the FFRs. Conclusions: Both UVGI and MH methods could be considered as promising decontamination candidates for inactivation of viruses for respirator reuse during shortages. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aerosols Communicable Diseases Disinfectants Hazardous Substances Hot Temperature Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Safety Solvents Viral Diseases

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• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: N95 Respirator Bioaerosols Chemical Deposition Decontamination Disinfection Equipment Maintenance Equipment Reliability Equipment Testing Germicides Heat Infection Control Infectious Agents Limit Of Detection LOD Materials Testing Moist Heat MS2 Virus N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirators Personal Protective Equipment PPE Respirator Properties Respirators Respirator Testing Reuse Toxic Materials Ultraviolet Radiation UVGI Vapors Viral Diseases

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• ISSN:
  0196-6553
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; Pennsylvania ; South Carolina
• 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:
  416-423
• Volume:
  49
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20062035
• Citation:
  Am J Infect Control 2021 Apr; 49(4):416-423
• Contact Point Address:
  Evanly Vo, PhD, DDS, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory, 626 Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15236
• Email:
  eav8@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• 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-512:2d84b6380e492a03992bff3bca41649cc0edc58e27923954a1b83e3a2e041a3b8279125d6feca0b7d63983c118afdfb7dec26b7c20cf39428d2b58eaa7645e10
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/225358/cdc_225358_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.02 MB ]