Abstract
A powered air-purifying respirator has been designed for particulate protection for coke oven workers. The initial phase of the design program included an evaluation of various media to establish efficiency for particulate removal, resistance to flow, and loading characteristics. On the basis of the results of this study, a resin-impregnated deep wool batting was chosen for the particulate filter. A lightweight motor-blower-battery pack was then designed to provide an air supply of 4 cfm for a full work shift. The final phase of the study was a field evaluation of 100 units at ten plant sites. This evaluation included air sampling to measure the protection factors afforded by the units.