Journal
AEROSOL AND AIR QUALITY RESEARCH
Volume 14, Issue 3, Pages 991-1002Publisher
TAIWAN ASSOC AEROSOL RES-TAAR
DOI: 10.4209/aaqr.2013.06.0201
Keywords
Respirator; Penetration; KFDA; NIOSH
Categories
Funding
- Occupational Health and Environmental Safety Division of 3M Korea
- National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF)
- Ministry of Education, Science and Technology [2011-0002926]
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Particulate respirators have been used in both general environments and in the workplace. Despite the existence of certified respirators for workers, no strict regulations exist for masks worldwide. The aims of this study were to evaluate the filter efficiency of various mask types using the Korean Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) [similar to the European Union (EU) protocol] and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) protocol and to compare the test results. We tested a total of 44 mask brands of four types (anti-yellow sand, medical, quarantine, general) and handkerchiefs with a TSI 8130 Automatic Filter Tester. A wide variation of penetration and pressure drops was observed by mask types. The overall mean penetration and pressure drop of all tested masks were respectively 35.6 +/- 34.7%, 2.7 +/- 1.4 mm H2O with the KFDA protocol, and 35.1 +/- 35.7%, 10.6 +/- 5.88 mm H2O with the NIOSH protocol. All tested quarantine masks satisfied the KFDA criterion of 6%. Six-ninths and four-sevenths of the anti-yellow sand masks for adults and children satisfied the criterion of 20%, respectively. Medical masks, general masks, and handkerchiefs were found to provide little protection against respiratory aerosols.
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