title: Correlation between quantitative fit factors and workplace protection factors measured in actual workplace environments at a steel foundry.
abstract: Past studies have found little or no correlation between workplace protection factors (WPFs) and quantitative fit factors (FFs). This study investigated the effect of good- and poor-fitting half-facepiece, air-purifying respirators on protection in actual workplace environments at a steel foundry and the correlation between WPFs and FFs. Fifteen burners and welders, who wore respirators voluntarily, and chippers participated in this study. Each subject was fit-tested with two respirator models each with three sizes, for a total of six fit-tests. Models and sizes were assigned this way to provide a wide range of FFs among study participants. Each worker donned the respirator twice per day (at the beginning of the shift and following the lunch break) for 2 days. Quantitative FFs were first obtained for each donning using the PortaCount Plus trade mark in a separate room. Without redonning the respirators, workers performed normal work for 1 to 2 hours, and WPFs were measured by collecting ambient and in-facepiece samples simultaneously. A second fit-test was conducted without disturbing the respirator. FFs were obtained by averaging the results from the first and second fit-tests. The resulting FFs had a geometric mean (GM) of 400 (range=10-6010) and a geometric standard deviation (GSD) of 6.1. Of the 55 valid donnings, 43 were good fitting (FFs> or =100) and 12 were poor fitting (FFs<100). The WPFs had a GM of 920 (range=13-230,000) and a GSD of 17.8. The WPFs were found to be significantly correlated with the FFs (R(2)=.55 and p-value=.0001). Therefore, FF was shown to be a meaningful indicator of respirator performance in actual workplace environments.
authors.affiliation: National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), 626 Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, USA.
authors.forename: Ziqing
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhuang
authors.forename: Christopher C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Coffey
authors.forename: Paul A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Jensen
authors.forename: Donald L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: Robert B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Lawrence
authors.forename: Warren R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Myers
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004867:Equipment Design; D004868:Equipment Failure; D005145:Face / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D006801:Humans; D007221:Industry; D007587:Job Description; D008422:Materials Testing; D011786:Quality Control; D012134:Respiratory Protective Devices / Q000592:standards*; D013232:Steel; D017132:Workplace
chemical_list: D013232:Steel