Above and beyond: when we ask personal protective equipment to be community protective equipment.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Koehler K ; Ruggles J ; Rule AM
• Description:
  Personal protective equipment (PPE) has gone from occupationally related terminology to everyday household jargon in just a few months during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, not everything that we loosely call PPE can be treated equally during this pandemic. In fact, there has been a fair amount of debate and confusion about what can be considered PPE given shortages of appropriate equipment. When making recommendations for PPE use, it is important to remember that in the case of COVID-19, we are seeking to protect both the wearer and those around them in the event of asymptomatic spread. Face coverings that seek to reduce exposures for the wearer and those around them can be called community protective equipment (CPE). Surprisingly, few devices can serve as what we propose calling community and personal protective equipment (CPPE), face coverings that can serve to protect the wearer and as source control, ideally reducing particle concentrations in both inhaled and exhaled air by at least 95%. Reliable information is needed on which types of face coverings (CPE, PPE, and CPPE) are suitable in different environments. This article lays out the features, functionality, and limitations of the different types of face coverings that the general public is encountering, facilitates selection of appropriate coverings, informs policy on recommendations for use in the community, and calls on the need for the introduction of standards for CPPE and guidance for CPE. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Communicable Diseases Environmental Monitoring Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Environmental Monitoring; Workplace Exposures; Inhalation Exposure Personal Protective Equipment; PPE; COVID-19; Infectious Diseases; Infection Control; Face Masks; Policy; Occupational Exposure;
• ISSN:
  1559-0631
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Guidance
• Place as Subject:
  District of Columbia ; Maryland ; OSHA Region 3
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  31-33
• Volume:
  31
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20065006
• Citation:
  J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 2021 Feb; 31(1):31-33
• Contact Point Address:
  Ana M. Rule, Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
• Email:
  arule1@jhu.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• Performing Organization:
  Johns Hopkins University
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology
• End Date:
  20280630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:324c60dc684cc2b3caa90eb2b2f35f2d07839782f714e6b926768dc21b8a1b482421b53407893ecbf2ed3bc775c515f668bcac44aa5cbb5f31cf8f5c0d2c9eec
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/248622/cdc_248622_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 573.22 KB ]