Comparative Performance Testing of Respirator versus Surgical Mask Using a Water Droplet Spray Model

Paul T. J. Scheepers, Heiman F. L. Wertheim, Maurice van Dael, Rob Anzion, Henk Jan Holterman, Steven Teerenstra, Martijn de Groot, Andreas Voss and Joost Hopman
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Paul T. J. Scheepers: Department for Health Evidence, Research Laboratory Molecular Epidemiology, 6500 HB Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Heiman F. L. Wertheim: Department of Medical Microbiology, Radboudumc, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Maurice van Dael: Department for Health Evidence, Research Laboratory Molecular Epidemiology, 6500 HB Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Rob Anzion: Department for Health Evidence, Research Laboratory Molecular Epidemiology, 6500 HB Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Henk Jan Holterman: Wageningen Plant Research, Wageningen University and Research, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
Steven Teerenstra: Department for Health Evidence, Section Biostatistics, Radboudumc, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Martijn de Groot: Radboudumc REshape Center, Radboudumc, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Andreas Voss: Department of Medical Microbiology, Radboudumc, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Joost Hopman: Department of Medical Microbiology, Radboudumc, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 4, 1-9

Abstract: Background. During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, there was shortage of the standard respiratory protective equipment (RPE). The aim of this study was to develop a procedure to test the performance of alternative RPEs used in the care of COVID-19 patients. Methods. A laboratory-based test was developed to compare RPEs by total inward leakage (TIL). We used a crossflow nebulizer to produce a jet spray of 1–100 µm water droplets with a fluorescent marker. The RPEs were placed on a dummy head and sprayed at distances of 30 and 60 cm. The outcome was determined as the recovery of the fluorescent marker on a membrane filter placed on the mouth of the dummy head. Results. At 30 cm, a type IIR surgical mask gave a 17.7% lower TIL compared with an FFP2 respirator. At 60 cm, this difference was similar, with a 21.7% lower TIL for the surgical mask compared to the respirator. When adding a face shield, the TIL at 30 cm was further reduced by 9.5% for the respirator and 16.6% in the case of the surgical mask. Conclusions. A safe, fast and very sensitive test method was developed to assess the effectiveness of RPE by comparison under controlled conditions.

Keywords: respiratory protective equipment; virus transmission; aerosols; particle size distribution; COVID-19 pandemic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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