Measurement of inward leakage of full-face masks in EN and ISO standards: comparison of gas and aerosol test agents.

In Europe, respiratory protective devices must be certified before they can be marketed. Among the parameters of interest, inward leakage (IL) characterizes the tightness between the face seal and the face, to verify that the device is well-designed. European standard EN 13274-1 (2001) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard ISO 16900-1 (2019) specify that IL should be measured using sodium chloride (NaCl) aerosol or sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) gas.

Respiratory protective device: One size to fit them all?

When exposed to hazardous or toxic substances, workers may be required to wear respiratory protective devices, selected in accordance with the pollutant, required protection level, individual characteristics, and work conditions. To emphasize the importance of the selection procedure, this study aimed to investigate the effects of the facial dimensions and breathing rate on the fit and the protection efficiency provided by full-face respirators. Manikin total efficiency measurements (mTEs) were then conducted on five head forms of various facial dimensions equipped with nine respirators of different models and sizes.

Efficiency of Community Face Coverings and Surgical Masks to Limit the Spread of Aerosol.

In the current pandemic context of COVID-19, people wear different types of masks, particularly in their workplace, to limit the spread of the virus. Depending on their activity and work environment, employees are required to wear community face coverings, cloth masks with a transparent windows, surgical masks, reusable masks, or respirators. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficiency as source control of these masks, i.

Reuse of medical face masks in domestic and community settings without sacrificing safety: Ecological and economical lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The need for personal protective equipment increased exponentially in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. To cope with the mask shortage during springtime 2020, a French consortium was created to find ways to reuse medical and respiratory masks in healthcare departments. The consortium addressed the complex context of the balance between cleaning medical masks in a way that maintains their safety and functionality for reuse, with the environmental advantage to manage medical disposable waste despite the current mask designation as single-use by the regulatory frameworks.