A Letter to Reconsider the Conditions for Testing Decontaminated N95 Respirators for Emergency Reuse to Address Shortage
Abstract The battle with COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the shortage of personal protective equipment, particularly, N95 respirators. Healthcare workers who reused N95 respirators may resort to unproven methods of cleaning/sterilization that can severely compromise the respirators’ filtration eff...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Aerosol and Air Quality Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2020.06.0339 |
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| Summary: | Abstract The battle with COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the shortage of personal protective equipment, particularly, N95 respirators. Healthcare workers who reused N95 respirators may resort to unproven methods of cleaning/sterilization that can severely compromise the respirators’ filtration efficiency. A recently issued guideline will test decontaminated N95 respirators against particles with a median diameter of 0.075 ± 0.020 µm at a flow rate of 85 L min–1. For emergency reuse, these conditions may be too stringent. N95 respirators tested at this flow rate had predicted efficiencies of < 69%, assuming complete degradation of their electrostatic coating. Experimental efficiencies were ~15% lower. For emergency reuse, we recommend to either adjust the flow rate closer to normal breathing, or the size of the test particle should reflect that of virus-laden respiratory aerosols (~> 0.5 µm). By reconsidering the test conditions, a substantial fraction of used/decontaminated respirators can be reused. |
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| ISSN: | 1680-8584 2071-1409 |