Safety and Health at Work Vol. 11 Issue 1 2020
Evaluation of a New Workplace Protection Factor-Measuring Method for Filtering Facepiece Respirator (Original Article)
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Title
Safety and Health at Work Vol. 11 Issue 1 2020
Evaluation of a New Workplace Protection Factor-Measuring Method for Filtering Facepiece Respirator (Original Article)
Evaluation of a New Workplace Protection Factor-Measuring Method for Filtering Facepiece Respirator (Original Article)
Subject
filtering facepiece respirator, flame photometer, nominal protection factor, PortaCount, workplace protection factor
Description
Background: This study aims to assess whether the TSI PortaCount (Model 8020) is a measuring
instrument comparable with the flame photometer. This would provide an indication for the suitability
of the PortaCount for determining the workplace protection factor for particulate filtering facepiece
respirators.
Methods: The PortaCount (with and without the N95-Companion) was compared with a stationary
flame photometer from Moores (Wallisdown) Ltd (Type 1100), which is a measuring instrument used in the procedure for determining the total inward leakage of the particulate filtering facepiece respirator in the European Standard. Penetration levels of sodium chloride aerosol through sample respirators of two brands (A and B) were determined by the two measuring systems under laboratory conditions. For each brand, thirty-six measurements were conducted. The samples were split into groups according to their protection level, conditioning before testing, and aerosol concentration. The relationship between the
gauged data from two measuring systems was determined. In addition, the particle size distribution inside the respirator and outside the respirator was documented. Linear regression analysis was used to calculate the association between the PortaCount (with and without the N95-Companion) and the flame photometer.
Results: A linear relationship was found between the raw data scaled with the PortaCount (without
N95-Companion) and the data detected by the flame photometer (R2 1⁄4 0.9704) under all test conditions. The distribution of particle size was found to be the same inside and outside the respirator in almost all cases.
Conclusion: Based on the obtained data, the PortaCount may be applicable for the determination of workplace protection factor.
instrument comparable with the flame photometer. This would provide an indication for the suitability
of the PortaCount for determining the workplace protection factor for particulate filtering facepiece
respirators.
Methods: The PortaCount (with and without the N95-Companion) was compared with a stationary
flame photometer from Moores (Wallisdown) Ltd (Type 1100), which is a measuring instrument used in the procedure for determining the total inward leakage of the particulate filtering facepiece respirator in the European Standard. Penetration levels of sodium chloride aerosol through sample respirators of two brands (A and B) were determined by the two measuring systems under laboratory conditions. For each brand, thirty-six measurements were conducted. The samples were split into groups according to their protection level, conditioning before testing, and aerosol concentration. The relationship between the
gauged data from two measuring systems was determined. In addition, the particle size distribution inside the respirator and outside the respirator was documented. Linear regression analysis was used to calculate the association between the PortaCount (with and without the N95-Companion) and the flame photometer.
Results: A linear relationship was found between the raw data scaled with the PortaCount (without
N95-Companion) and the data detected by the flame photometer (R2 1⁄4 0.9704) under all test conditions. The distribution of particle size was found to be the same inside and outside the respirator in almost all cases.
Conclusion: Based on the obtained data, the PortaCount may be applicable for the determination of workplace protection factor.
Creator
Chenchen Sun, Christoph Thelen, Iris Sancho Sanz, Andreas Wittmann
Publisher
Elsevier Korea LLC
Date
March 2020
Contributor
Sri Wahyuni
Format
PDF
Language
English
Type
Text
Coverage
Safety and Health at Work Vol. 11 Issue 1 2020
Files
Citation
Chenchen Sun, Christoph Thelen, Iris Sancho Sanz, Andreas Wittmann, “Safety and Health at Work Vol. 11 Issue 1 2020
Evaluation of a New Workplace Protection Factor-Measuring Method for Filtering Facepiece Respirator (Original Article),” Repository Horizon University Indonesia, accessed April 11, 2025, https://repository.horizon.ac.id/items/show/1971.
Evaluation of a New Workplace Protection Factor-Measuring Method for Filtering Facepiece Respirator (Original Article),” Repository Horizon University Indonesia, accessed April 11, 2025, https://repository.horizon.ac.id/items/show/1971.