Filtration performance and breathing resistance of elastomeric half mask respirator P100 filter cartridges after repeated and extended use in healthcare settings

Abstract

In 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the use of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health-certified Elastomeric Half Mask Respirators equipped with N95 or P100 respirator filter cartridges for protection against the SARS-CoV-2 viral agent, as a viable alternative to N95 filtering facepiece respirators. Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations stated that based on current practice, it was acceptable to repeatedly use these filter cartridges for up to 12 months as a contingency capacity strategy during anticipated respirator shortages. To validate this recommendation, an investigation was undertaken in which Elastomeric Half Mask Respirators equipped with P100 respirator filter cartridges were deployed and used by healthcare professionals in clinical settings (i.e., inpatient nursing units, operating rooms) for extended periods. These filter cartridges were subsequently tested to accurately quantify their filtration efficiency and breathing resistance to determine if they continued to meet National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s performance requirements. Findings from this investigation confirmed that an Elastomeric Half Mask Respirator when equipped with a P100 filter cartridge continues to provide a high level of aerosol filtration performance (≥99.97%) and exhibits little change in breathing resistance even after 12 months of repeated use (i.e., wear, cleaning, and disinfection between patient use and at the end of work shift) in healthcare settings.

Keywords:

• Filtration performance
• healthcare
• respirator filter cartridges

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank those healthcare professionals at the Allegheny Health Network who participated in this study. In addition to their vital responsibilities for caring for patients, they were gracious enough to take on the additional task of maintaining and tracking the EHMRs and P100 respirator cartridge filters throughout their use in the healthcare settings. We are also indebted to Dr. Lee Greenwald of the National Personal Protective Testing Laboratory and Mr. Backfisch of MSA Safety. Their respective inputs regarding the written content of the manuscript and in the interpretation of performance data within it were of enormous value.

Data availability statement

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article [and/or] its supplementary materials.

Suitability of human participants in study

The MSA Advantage 200LS Elastomeric Half Mask Respirator and Advantage Low Profile 100 respirator filter cartridge are NIOSH certified (TC-84A-5420). Furthermore, AHN followed guidance and requirements outlined in the OSHA Respiratory Protection Standard 1019.134 (OSHA 1998b) when deploying and using respirators. Therefore, it was not necessary to this study to be reviewed and approved by an Investigational Review Board, as no participant information was collected.