In a time of uncertainty, you want to do everything you can to make sure you are controlling your safety as much as possible. It’s important to identify personal protective equipment that meets the highest standards of protection for yourself and those around you.
With an overwhelming amount of choices for face coverings, you might be wondering if your mask or respirator is the most reliable choice out there. The most common types of personal protection equipment are homemade cloth coverings, pleated surgical masks, and filtering facepiece respirators such as N95 respirators.
Are you getting the best protection out there?
Understanding Mask Efficacy
Homemade cloth coverings, such as bandanas, cloth masks, and scarves only provide minimal protection for the wearer. Airborne particles can easily penetrate the fabric threads, and if not fitted properly the wearer may experience air leakage from sides, top, and bottom of the face covering.
Like homemade cloth face coverings, pleated surgical masks allow for air leakage along the edges of the mask. The wearer does not get a reliable level of protection from inhalation of smaller airborne particles. However, this style of mask does help protect the people in the wearer’s proximity from potentially dangerous respiratory emissions.
Neither of these common personal protection coverings are considered respiratory protection.
NIOSH-Approved N95 Respirators Filter At Least 95% of Airborne Particles
The best personal protection against airborne particles for individuals is a NIOSH-approved N95 respirator. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH, is a subsidiary of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an authority on safety and prevention.
NIOSH-approved N95 respirators have gone through a rigorous approval process that confirms the respirators meet design and filter efficiency standards. NIOSH also conducts assessments to affirm the quality assurance of a random sampling of respirators.
The N95 respirator differs from a surgical mask and homemade cloth face coverings in significant ways. An N95 mask creates a seal around the nose and mouth of the wearer, with elastic straps that go around the back of the head rather than each ear. This prevents air leakage in and out of the respirator piece. The N95 is also able to filter out airborne particles. For instance, a recent assessment of the Model L-188 found that the minimum filter efficiency for this model was 99.38%, well above the 95% efficiency requirement.
A NIOSH-Approved N95 is your best bet for protecting yourself and others.
The 5 Identifying Features Of An Authentic NIOSH-Approved N95
Don’t settle for any less than the real thing. With many counterfeit N95 respiratory masks on the market, consumers must make sure that they are purchasing an authentic certified product.
Identify real NIOSH-Approved N95s by looking for these 5 marking on the exterior:
Manufacturer’s name and logo
Stamped with NIOSH name or logo
TC approval number beginning with TC-84A-XXXX
Four-digit model number or part number
NIOSH filter series designation
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