Filter Performance of N99 and N95 Facepiece Respirators Against Viruses and Ultrafine Particles
Open accessAbstract
The performance of three filtering facepiece respirators (two models of N99 and one N95) challenged with an inert aerosol (NaCl) and three virus aerosols (enterobacteriophages MS2 and T4 and Bacillus subtilis phage)—all with significant ultrafine components—was examined using a manikin-based protocol with respirators sealed on manikins. Three inhalation flow rates, 30, 85, and 150 l min−1, were tested. The filter penetration and the quality factor were determined. Between-respirator and within-respirator comparisons of penetration values were performed. At the most penetrating particle size (MPPS), >3% of MS2 virions penetrated through filters of both N99 models at an inhalation flow rate of 85 l min−1. Inhalation airflow had a significant effect upon particle penetration through the tested respirator filters. The filter quality factor was found suitable for making relative performance comparisons. The MPPS for challenge aerosols was <0.1 μm in electrical mobility diameter for all tested respirators. Mean particle penetration (by count) was significantly increased when the size fraction of <0.1 μm was included as compared to particles >0.1 μm. The filtration performance of the N95 respirator approached that of the two models of N99 over the range of particle sizes tested (∼0.02 to 0.5 μm). Filter penetration of the tested biological aerosols did not exceed that of inert NaCl aerosol. The results suggest that inert NaCl aerosols may generally be appropriate for modeling filter penetration of similarly sized virions.
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Previous studies have shown agreement between physical penetrations of inert and biological aerosols at particle sizes of 1 μm and above.
“Moreover, previous studies have shown agreement between physical penetrations of inert and biological aerosols at particle sizes of 1 µm and above.(13,16,24,31,32)”
From Performance of Conventional and Antimicrobial-Treated Filtering Facepiece Respirators Challenged with Biological Aerosols (2012) · cites this paper as [24]
The Conclusions and Future Work section says inert aerosols may generally model penetration of similarly sized viruses. But the Results and Discussion compare inert and biological aerosols at approximately 0.02–0.1 µm, not at 1 µm and above. The cited paper therefore supports the general comparison, but not the claimed particle-size range. (LLM, conf=0.85)
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- Authors
- Eninger, R. M., Honda, T., Adhikari, A., Heinonen-Tanski, H., Reponen, T., & Grinshpun, S. A.
- Affiliations
- University of Cincinnati (US)
- Department of Environmental Science, University of Kuopio, Finland
- Corresponding author
- Grinshpun, Sergey A.
- Venue
- The Annals of Occupational Hygiene
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2008-05-13
- Volume
- 52
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 385-396
- ISSN
- 0003-4878 (ISSN-L)
- 1475-3162
- PMC
- PMC6768072
- OpenAlex
- W2161354557
- Semantic Scholar
- 90140e08118a9c4182c855ffc5c17e22357c369d
- Cited by
- 165
- References
- 43
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 30 · 2020: 24 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 7.35
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model (vor)
- Locations
- The Annals of Occupational Hygiene (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Cincinnati
- Työsuojelurahasto
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (T42-OH008432, T42/OH008432-02)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine › Infection Control and Ventilation
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Aerosol Filtration and Electrostatic Precipitation
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Indoor Air Quality and Microbial Exposure
- Keywords
- filtering facepiece respirators, N95 respirators, filter penetration, ultrafine particles, bacteriophage lambda, NaCl aerosol, inhalation flow rate, most penetrating particle size, filter quality factor, respiratory protection
- MeSH terms
- Air Pollutants, Occupational, Humans, Materials Testing, Particle Size, Respiratory Protective Devices, Ultrafiltration, Viruses, Occupational Exposure, Inhalation Exposure
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