Evaluation of the Effects of Wiping Decontamination for Filter Cartridges of Elastomeric Half-Mask Respirators (EHMRs)

Details

• Personal Author:
  Brannen J ; Horvatin M ; McClain C ; Streeter R ; Suhon NL ; Vo E ; Zhuang Z
• Description:
  Background: A major concern among health care experts is a shortage of N95 filtering facepiece respirators during a pandemic. If the supply of N95 filtering facepiece respirators becomes limited, reusable elastomeric half-mask respirators (EHMRs) may be used to protect health care workers. The focus of this study was to evaluate the effects on the filter performance of wiping decontamination for EHMR P100 filter cartridges. Methods: The filter cartridge exterior of EHMR Honeywell, Moldex, and Mine Safety Appliance (MSA) models was wiped using quaternary ammonium and sodium hypochlorite wipes. These filter cartridge properties were assessed including observational analysis and filter performance tests. These wiping and assessing procedures were repeated after each set of wiping cycles (50, 100, 150, 200, and 400 cycles) to determine the effects of wiping decontamination. Results: For sodium hypochlorite wipes, Honeywell, Moldex, and MSA models passed the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) liquid particulate penetration criteria for all wiping cycles from 50 to 400 (penetrations<0.014%). For quaternary ammonium wipes, filter penetrations of Moldex failed (penetrations>0.03%) after 150 cycles, while the filter penetrations of Honeywell and MSA passed for all wiping cycles (penetrations ≤0.013%). Conclusions: Wiping decontamination methods using sodium hypochlorite and quaternary ammonium wipes could be considered promising decontamination candidates for Honeywell, Moldex, and MSA reuse, except for the wiping number selection for Moldex (<150 cycles) when using the quaternary ammonium wipe. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Elastomers
  • Health Personnel
  • Occupational Health
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Respiratory Protective Devices
  • Safety
• Keywords:
  • Personal protective equipment
  • PPE
  • Elastomeric half-mask respirators
  • Health care workers
  • Decontamination
  • Filter materials
  • Air purifying respirators
  • APR
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Author Keywords: Elastomeric half-mask respirators
  More +
• ISSN:
  0196-6553
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• 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:
  159-166
• Volume:
  52
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20067707
• Citation:
  Am J Infect Control 2024 Feb; 52(2):159-166
• 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:
  2024
• NORA Priority Area:
  Healthcare and Social Assistance
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Infection Control
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/229970/cdc_229970_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.51 MB]
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e4e65f1db0eaab38665f6e945e93fde5e1007290d5e795e1bb1f5bdbe2e8d43aff1b53ba9001e024773166cd19982a395e33368ad8e5acc8886bfb77d70d4f33