Development of a New Method for Measuring the Protection Provided by Respirators against Dust and Microorganisms
Open accessAbstract
The efficiency of respirators is usually determined by the protection factor, which is the ratio of the particle concentration outside the respirator to that inside the respirator. Most studies on workplace protection factors (WPF) of respirators have focused on the measurement of total mass concentrations, ignoring the effect of particle size. Furthermore, there appear to be no previous studies on protection factors against biological particles. In this study, a prototype personal sampling setup was developed for determining the protection provided by respirators against non-biological and biological particles in the size range of 0.7–10 μm. The range covers respirable and thoracic dust particles as well as most bacterial and fungal spores. The setup is compatible for field use in workplace environments and was optimized by minimizing particle losses in its aerosol transmission system. Theoretical modeling, laboratory tests, and field tests were performed for design optimization. After accounting for aerosol deposition mechanisms due to gravity, inertia, and turbulence affecting aerosol transmission through the straight and bending sections of specialized tubing, the theoretical data showed best agreement with the laboratory and field data for a tube diameter of ½ inch (~1.27 cm) among the three tested diameters. Tubing of this diameter also had the least amount of particle losses, and can be directed either above the ear or above the shoulder of the person whose respiratory protection is being evaluated. In addition, the ability of the setup to measure the WPF when a human subject donned a respirator was demonstrated successfully during soybean unloading. This study suggests that the new setup is a promising tool for future studies on evaluating respiratory protection against airborne dusts and microorganisms in occupational environments.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Effect of relative humidity on the aerodynamic diameter and respiratory deposition of fungal spores
Reponen, T., Willeke, K., Ulevicius, V., Reponen, A., & Grinshpun, S. A. (1996) · Atmospheric Environment · doi:10.1016/1352-2310(96)00128-8 · Cited by 170 · see citing works
Self-citationFILTER AND LEAK PENETRATION CHARACTERISTICS OF A DUST AND MIST FILTERING FACEPIECE
Chen, C. C., Ruuskanen, J., Pilacinski, W., & Willeke, K. (1990) · American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal · doi:10.1080/15298669091370275 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Self-citation
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 17
- Akbar-Khanzadeh, F., Bisesi, M. S. and Rivas R. D. (1995), Comfort of personal protective equipment. Appl. Ergon. 26(3): 195-198.
- Brockmann, J. E. (2001), Sampling and transport of aerosol. In Aerosol Measurement: Principles, Techniques, and Applications, Second Ed.. P.A. Baron and K. Willeke, Eds., Wiley-Interscience, New York, pp. 143-195.
- Chen, C. C. and Willeke, K. (1992), Characteristics of face seal leakage in filtering facepieces. Am. Ind. Hyg. Assoc. J. 53(9): 533-539.
- Choe, K., Trunov, M., Grinshpun, S. A., Willeke, K., Harney, J., Trakumas, S., Mainelis, G., Bornschein, R., Clark, S. and Friedman, W. (2000), Particle settling after lead-based paint abatement work and clearance waiting period. Am. Ind. Hyg. Assoc. J. 61(6): 798-807.
- Coffey, C. C., Lawrence, R. B., Zhuang, Z., Campbell, D. L., Jensen, P. A. and Myers, W. R. (2002), Comparison of five methods for fit-testing N95 filtering-facepiece respirators. Appl. Occup. Environ. Hyg. 17(10): 723-730.
- Gόrny, R. L., Dutkiewicz, J. and Krysinska-Traczyk, E. (1999), Size distribution of bacterial and fungal bioaerosols in indoor air. Ann. Agric. Environ. Med. 6(2): 105-113.
- Groves, W. A. and Reynolds, S. J. (2003), Prototype sampling system for measuring workplace protection factors for gas and vapors. Appl. Occup. Environ. Hyg. 18(5): 394-402.
- Holton, P. M., Tackett, D. L. and Willeke, K. (1987), Particle size-dependent leakage and losses of aerosols in respirators. Am. Ind. Hyg. Assoc. J. 48(10):848-854.
- Johnston, A. R., Myers, W. R., Colton, C. E., Birkner, J. S. and Campbell, C. E. (1992), Review of respirator performance testing in the workplace: issues and concerns. Am. Ind. Hyg. Assoc. J. 53(11): 705-712.
- Lenhart, S.W. and Campbell, D. L. (1984), Assigned protection factors for two respirator types based upon workplace performance testing. Ann. Occup. Hyg. 28(2): 173-82.
- Myers, W. R., Allender, J., Plummer, R. and Stobbe, T. (1986), Parameters that bias the measurement of airborne concentration within a respirator. Am. Ind. Hyg. Assoc. J. 47(2): 106-114.
- Myers, W. R., Allender, J., Iskander, W. and Stanley, C. (1988), Causes of in-facepiece sampling bias-I. Half-facepiece respirators. Ann. Occup. Hyg. 32(3): 345-359.
- Oestenstad, R. K., Perkins, J. L. and Rose, V. E. (1990a), Identification of faceseal leak sites on a half-mask respirator. Am. Ind. Hyg. Assoc. J. 51(5): 280-284.
- Oestenstad, R. K., Dillion, H. K. and Perkins, L. L. (1990b), Distribution of faceseal leak sites on a half-mask respirator and their association with facial dimensions. Am. Ind. Hyg. Assoc. J. 51(5): 285-290.
- CFR Parts 1910, 1915, and 1926 Assigned Protection Factors; Proposed Rule- 68:34035-34119. Federal Register/ Vol. 68, No. 109.
- Popendorf, W., Merchant, J. A., Leonard, S., Burmeister, L. F. and Olenchock, S. A. (1995), Respirator protection and acceptability among agricultural workers. Appl. Occup. Environ. Hyg. 10(7): 595-605.
- Zhuang, Z. and Myers, W. R. (1996), Field performance measurements of half-facepiece respirators - paint spraying operations. Am. Ind. Hyg. Assoc. J. 57: 50-57. Received for review, March 3, 2004 Accepted, May 21, 2004
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Lee, S.-A., Grinshpun, S. A., & Reponen, T. (2008) · The Annals of Occupational Hygiene · doi:10.1093/annhyg/men005 · Cited by 235 · see citing works
Self-citationPersonal Exposure to Airborne Dust and Microorganisms in Agricultural Environments
Lee, S.-A., Adhikari, A., Grinshpun, S. A., McKay, R., Shukla, R., & Reponen, T. (2006) · Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene · doi:10.1080/15459620500524607 · Cited by 180 · see citing works
Self-citationLee, S.-A., Adhikari, A., Grinshpun, S. A., McKay, R., Shukla, R., Zeigler, H. L., & Reponen, T. (2005) · Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene · doi:10.1080/15459620500330583 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Self-citationPerformance Evaluation of Full Facepiece Respirators with Cartridges
Lee, S.-A., Chen, Y.-L., Hwang, D.-C., Wu, C.-C., & Chen, J.-K. (2017) · Aerosol and Air Quality Research · doi:10.4209/aaqr.2016.11.0485 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
“3) to collect particle concentrations from inside and outside of the respirator by using previous studies as references (Lee et al. , 2004; Lee et al. , 2005; Lee et al. , 2008).”
Self-citationLee, S.-A., Liao, C.-H., & Lin, T.-Y. (2018) · Aerosol and Air Quality Research · doi:10.4209/aaqr.2017.08.0285 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“The design concept was based on our previously developed personal sampling system, which had been used to evaluate respirator protection against airborne dust and microorganisms in the laboratory and in agricultural farms (Lee et al. , 2004, 2005a, b).”
Self-citation
- Authors
- Lee, S.-A., Reponen, T., Li, W., Trunov, M. A., Willeke, K., & Grinshpun, S. A.
- Affiliations
- University of Cincinnati (US)
- Venue
- Aerosol and Air Quality Research
- Published
- 2004
- Volume
- 4
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 56-73
- ISSN
- 1680-8584 (ISSN-L)
- 2071-1409
- OpenAlex
- W2155947595
- Cited by
- 11
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2017: 1 · 2016: 1 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 4.91
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by-sa
- Locations
- Aerosol and Air Quality Research (publishedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Occupational Therapy › Occupational Health and Safety in Workplaces
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality › Industrial and Mining Safety
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Indoor Air Quality and Microbial Exposure
- Keywords
- workplace protection factor, airborne transmission, particle size distribution, biological particles, fungal spores, bacterial spores, respirable dust, aerosol deposition, occupational respiratory protection
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
