title: Protection of firefighters against combustion aerosol particles: simulated workplace protection factor of a half-mask respirator (pilot study).
abstract: The present pilot study investigated the penetration of ultrafine particles originated by combustion of different materials into elastomeric half-mask respirators equipped with two P100 filters. We determined the Simulated Workplace Protection Factor (SWPF) for 11 firefighters wearing elastomeric half-mask respirators and performing activities simulating those conducted during fire overhaul operations. The tests were performed in a controlled laboratory setting. A newly-developed battery-operated Portable Aerosol Mobility Spectrometer (PAMS) was used to measure size-resolved aerosol particle concentrations outside (C(out)) and inside (Cin) of an air-purifying respirator donned on a firefighter, and the SWPF was calculated as C(out)/C(in). Based on the total aerosol concentration, the "total" SWPF ranged from 4,222 (minimum) to 35,534 (maximum) with values falling primarily in a range from 11,171 (25 percentile) to 26,604 (75 percentile) and a median value being ≈15,000. This is consistent with the recently reported fit factor (FF) data base.((1)) The size-resolved SWPF data revealed a dependency on the particle size. It was concluded that a portable device such as PAMS can be used on firefighters during overhaul operations (as well as on other workers wearing elastomeric half-mask respirators) to monitor the aerosol concentrations in real time and ultimately help prevent overexposure.
authors.affiliation: a Center for Health-Related Aerosol Studies, Department of Environmental Health , University of Cincinnati , Cincinnati , Ohio . E-mail: sergey.grinshpun@uc.edu.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dietrich
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yermakov
authors.forename: Tiina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Reponen
authors.forename: Pramod
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kulkarni
authors.forename: Chaolong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.forename: Sergey A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Grinshpun
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000336:Aerosols / Q000032:analysis; D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D061388:Firefighters; D005390:Fires; D006801:Humans; D019570:Inhalation Exposure / Q000032:analysis* / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis / Q000517:prevention & control; D010316:Particle Size; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012134:Respiratory Protective Devices
chemical_list: D000336:Aerosols; D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D052638:Particulate Matter
keywords: combustion aerosol; elastomeric half-mask; firefighters; simulated workplace protection factor