title: Respirator impact on work task performance.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Respirators are used to maintain work performance and protect against inhaled toxins. The study compared the effects of two commonly used respirator classes--dual cartridge half face mask (HFM) and filtering face piece (N95)--upon work productivity.
  
  
  METHODS
  107 volunteers performed eight simulated work tasks when using the HFM and N95 respirators. Tasks included several body positions, exertion levels, and concentration requirements. Objective measures of accuracy and speed were developed for each task. Scores for each task were based on the subject's rank among all subjects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All subjects were capable of performing the tasks. There were no statistically significant differences between respirator types in either task performance metric.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Productivity impact can be measured effectively and should be considered as part of respirator design testing and when selecting the optimal respirator for a worker.
authors.affiliation: Occupational-Environmental Preventive Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, Greater Los Angeles Veterans Administration Medical Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA. pharber@ucla.edu
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Harber
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yun
authors.forename: Silverio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Santiago
authors.forename: Siddharth
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bansal
authors.forename: Yihang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008397:Masks; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000453:epidemiology; D012134:Respiratory Protective Devices; D012220:Rhinitis / Q000453:epidemiology; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis