Performance of N95 FFRs Against Combustion and NaCl Aerosols in Dry and Moderately Humid Air: Manikin-based Study.
OBJECTIVE
The first objective of this study was to evaluate the penetration of particles generated from combustion of plastic through National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-certified N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) using a manikin-based protocol and compare the data to the penetration of NaCl particles. The second objective was to investigate the effect of relative humidity (RH) on the filtration performance of N95 FFRs.


METHODS
Two NIOSH-certified N95 FFRs (A and B) were fully sealed on a manikin headform and challenged with particles generated by combustion of plastic and NaCl particles. The tests were performed using two cyclic flows [with mean inspiratory flow (MIF) rates = 30 and 85 l min(-1), representing human breathing under low and moderate workload conditions] and two RH levels (≈20 and ≈80%, representing dry and moderately humid air). The total and size-specific particle concentrations inside (C in) and outside (C out) of the respirators were measured with a condensation particle counter and an aerosol size spectrometer. The penetration values (C in/C out) were calculated after each test.


RESULTS
The challenge aerosol, RH, MIF rate, and respirator type had significant (P < 0.05) effects on the performance of the manikin-sealed FFR. Its efficiency significantly decreased when the FFR was tested with plastic combustion particles compared to NaCl aerosols. For example, at RH ≈80% and MIF = 85 l min(-1), as much as 7.03 and 8.61% of combustion particles penetrated N95 respirators A and B, respectively. The plastic combustion particles and gaseous compounds generated by combustion likely degraded the electric charges on fibers, which increased the particle penetration. Increasing breathing flow rate or humidity increased the penetration (reduced the respirator efficiency) for all tested aerosols. The effect of particle size on the penetration varied depending on the challenge aerosol and respirator type. It was observed that the peak of the size distribution of combustion particles almost coincided with their most penetrating particle size, which was not the case for NaCl particles. This finding was utilized for the data interpretation.


CONCLUSIONS
N95 FFRs have lower filter efficiency when challenged with contaminant particles generated by combustion, particularly when used under high humidity conditions compared to NaCl particles.
1Center for Health-Related Aerosol Studies, Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati, 160 Panzeca Way, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0056, USA;
Shuang
S
Gao
1Center for Health-Related Aerosol Studies, Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati, 160 Panzeca Way, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0056, USA;
Jinyong
J
Kim
1Center for Health-Related Aerosol Studies, Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati, 160 Panzeca Way, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0056, USA;
Michael
M
Yermakov
1Center for Health-Related Aerosol Studies, Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati, 160 Panzeca Way, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0056, USA;
Yousef
Y
Elmashae
2Industrial Management and Systems Engineering, College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, West Virginia University, 395 Evansdale Drive, Morgantown, WV 26506-6070, USA;
Xinjian
X
He
1Center for Health-Related Aerosol Studies, Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati, 160 Panzeca Way, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0056, USA;
Tiina
T
Reponen
3Policy and Standard Development Branch, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory, 626 Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, USA.
Ziqing
Z
Zhuang
3Policy and Standard Development Branch, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory, 626 Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, USA.
Samy
S
Rengasamy
1Center for Health-Related Aerosol Studies, Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati, 160 Panzeca Way, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0056, USA; sergey.grinshpun@uc.edu.
Sergey A
SA
Grinshpun
D000336:Aerosols / Q000032:analysis*; D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D004867:Equipment Design; D005374:Filtration / Q000295:instrumentation; D006801:Humans; D006813:Humidity; D019570:Inhalation Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D008348:Manikins; D008422:Materials Testing / Q000379:methods; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D010316:Particle Size; D010969:Plastics / Q000032:analysis; D012134:Respiratory Protective Devices / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D056152:Respiratory Rate; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000032:analysis*; D014481:United States
D000336:Aerosols; D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D010969:Plastics; D012965:Sodium Chloride
N95; filtering facepiece respirator; penetration; plastic combustion particles; relative humidity