IOSH – A Guide to

Respiratory Protective Devices

Gary Pharo
 WE DESIGN AND MANUFACTURE
WORLD CLASS RESPIRATORY PROTECTION
Since 1926 Sundström Safety has
been dedicated to protect people
against polluted air.

We can present a complete

system with various respiratory
protective devices for most
applications and we do so
globally

Our company is managed by the

third generation of the
Sundström family.
AGENDA
❑ Selecting RPE
❑ Particle sizes
❑ Legislation
❑ Types of RPE and how they work
(plus some additional items!)
❑ Filtration efficiency
❑ Pandemics and RPE
SELECTING RESPIRATORY PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

Right for the Hazard

Right for the Task

Right for the Person

 RIGHT FOR THE PERSON

Things you need to consider include:

Pre-existing Health conditions

Contact lenses/ Spectacles

Facial hair and markings

FACIAL HAIR AND
PROTECTION FACTOR
1200

1000 On average, stubble will reduce the

protection level by more than 90%
800

600 < 10 % <1%

remains remains
400
Beards reduce the
200 protection level by
0 more than 99%
Clean shaven Stubble Beard
Amosite (asbestos)
fibres on a human
hair measuring
around 10-20
microns long and
perhaps 1 micron
wide
RIGHT FOR THE TASK
Things you need to consider include:
Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health
Work rate
Wear time
Abnormal temperature or humidity
Flammable or explosive atmospheres
Lack of oxygen
Vision
Communication
Mobility
Other PPE
 RIGHT FOR THE HAZARD
Two types of contaminants
– three risk areas

Gas / Vapours Lack of Oxygen Particles

 PARTICLE SIZES Visibility limit 17 µm

WOOD/ SAWDUST

METAL DUST
BACTERIA
VIRUSES

VEHICLE EXHAUST EMISSIONS POLLEN

TOBACCO SMOKE FIBREGLASS

ASBESTOS

RESPIRABLE SILICA

FLOUR DUST
WELDING FUME
COAL DUST

PAPER DUST

CEMENT DUST
Gas Molecules
BIOCIDES IN SPRAYFORM

0.0001 0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1 000 10 000

Penetrate into lungs and can enter blood stream Mostly caught in nose or throat
Penetrate into lungs
 PARTICLE SIZES
Dust
particle
10 μm

Red Blood
Cell 7 μm

Exhaust
Bacillus Emission
Covid-19 Bacteria 2.5 μm
0.06 μm – 0.5 μm
0.14 μm
COUGHING/ SNEEZING

The average human cough expels:

8,000 particles when well, increasing to
over 75,000 when ill

Range in size from around 1000 microns

down to around 0.1 micron
>95% are smaller than 1 micron
>99% are smaller than 10 micron

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Health Effects Laboratory Division, Morgantown, West Virginia

University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

(References: 1)
PARTICLE SIZE AND FALLING VELOCITY

Particle diameter Falling velocity Fall time for 1m

10 µm (0,01 mm) 47 cm/min …2,2 min

5 µm (0,005 mm) 11 cm/min …9,1 mim

1 µm (0,001 mm) 27 cm/hour …4 hours

0,5 µm (0,0005 mm) 6,8 cm/hour …15 hours

0,2 µm (0,0002 mm) 1,1 cm/hour …91 hours

 WHAT DOES LEGISLATION REQUIRE?
Where respiratory protective equipment (RPE) is used as a
control measure under Health and Safety Legislation, it is vital
that the selected RPE is adequate and suitable.

For sensitisers, carcinogens and mutagens RPE must reduce

exposure to as low as reasonably practicable, and in any case
to an acceptable level (e.g. below any applicable Workplace
Exposure Limits or Control Limits).
 HIERARCHY OF CONTROLS

Most
effective
Eliminate the hazard

Replace the hazard

Isolate people from the hazard

Change the way people work

Protect the worker with PPE

Least
effective
 Most
Effective TYPES OF RPE
Breathing apparatus
The user is supplied with breathable
air from a non-contaminated source
Not dependent on surrounding
atmosphere

Filter Purification

Air passes through a

filter that
remove contaminants

Dependent on
surrounding
atmosphere

Least
effective
HOME MADE MASKS NOT PPE!!

Needle sizes vary from

c.5300 microns (5 gauge)

to
c.600 microns (23 gauge)

Cloth masks should not be recommended for HCWs,

particularly in high-risk situations, and guidelines need
to be updated (Reference: 2 MacIntyre CR, Seale H, Dung TC, et al)
 On average the
equivalent of
5000 virus
particles could
pass through
each needle hole
with each breath
PITTA MASKS NOT PPE!!

In a recent test of Japanese Pitta Mask filtration

efficiency, they managed to filter

Just 64% of 2.5 micron size particles

And
0% of 0.3 micron size particles
SURGICAL FACE MASKS NOT PPE!!

The main intended use of most surgical masks is

to protect the patients from infective agents from
the noses and mouths of the staff and, in certain
situations, additionally to protect the wearer
against splashes of potentially contaminated
liquids.

They are not PPE or RPE

 DISPOSABLE FACE MASKS

Disposable come in many shapes, colours and sizes…but normally only in ‘1 size fits all’

Disposable masks will only protect against particles in limited concentrations

Some (coloured grey) also offer relief from nuisance organic vapours below the WEL
 WORKING PRINCIPLE OF DISPOSABLE FACE MASKS
Disposable masks form a seal around the aural nasal area and
require the user to be clean shaven in the area the mask seals.

If being used as a control measure under COSHH a face fit test

should be undertaken to ensure they are suitable and sufficient
RE-USING DISPOSABLE MASKS

1. What is the effect on the

filtration media?

2. What is the effect on the fit of

the mask

3. What harm could the cleaning

solution do to human skin

No method is currently proven nor

currently supported by any manufacturer
(that I know of).
HALF MASKS
FULL FACE MASKS
 WORKING PRINCIPLE OF HALF AND FULL FACE MASKS

Half Face masks form a seal around the aural

Full Face masks form a seal around the face
nasal area and require the user to be clean
and aural nasal area and require the user to be
shaven in the area the mask seals.
clean shaven in the area the mask seals.

If being used as a control measure under COSHH a face fit test should be undertaken to
ensure they are suitable and sufficient
 WORKING PRINCIPLE OF HALF AND FULL FACE MASKS

Assigned Protection Factors Assigned Protection Factors

For particles P1 = 4; P2 = 10 P3 = 20 For particles P1 = 4; P2 = 10 P3 = 40

For gas only For gas only
or combined gas & particles = 10 or combined gas & particles = 20
 POWERED
AIR
PURIFYING
RESPIRATORS
WORKING PRINCIPLE OF POWERED AIR PURIFYING RESPIRATORS
(LOOSE FITTING HEADTOP)

▪ They must be used in conjunction with an approved headtop or facepiece and the
appropriate certified filter
▪ Powered Air Purifying Respirators combined with a Loose Fitting Headtop are suitable
for people with facial hair.
PAPR HEADTOPS
PARTICLE FILTER FILTRATION TECHNOLOGY
Electrostatic filter
➢ Particle penetration increases at higher airflow
rates than 95 l/min

➢ Small filter area gives a short service life for the

filter

➢ Electrostatic charged filter material loses its

charge when it becomes wet

➢ Hard for the user to determine when the filter lost

its filtration efficiency and the particles goes
straight through the filter.
PARTICLE FILTER FILTRATION TECHNOLOGY

Mechanical filter

• Air velocity >250 l/min

• Large filter area
• Humidity resistant
• Filtration efficiency increases over time
 PARTICLE FILTER VS PARTICLE FILTER
Class Filtration Maximum Inward 100,000 particles with each
Efficiency Leakage breath, what’s behind the filter?
Surgical Mask ?? > 40% ? Probably c. 40,000
FFP1 80% 20% Up to 20,000
FFP2 94% 6% Up to 6,000
FFP3 99% 1% Up to 1,000
P3R 99.95% 0.05% Up to 50

99.997% 0.003%

Respiratory protection is not created equal; this isn’t to say that those other masks/ filters may not
be suitable for certain tasks, but Sundström solutions far exceed the current standards
WEARING RPE DURING A PANDEMIC
 WEARING RPE IN EVERYDAY LIFE
Wearing a mask in public has little
or no beneficial effect

There are issues with

• Fit
• Touching mask
• Disposing of mask
• Reusing mask
• Comfort of mask
• Facial hair
• Wearing it the right way up

There may be some small benefit to

infected people reducing aerosol
transmission
 penetration of 2.5 micron particles A study by Centre for
Cardiovascular Sciences,
Edinburgh University,
disposable FFP2 3.4
Edinburgh, UK showed that for
dust respirator A 1.5 the first time that a wearing a
0.1
facemask appears to abrogate
dust respirator B
the adverse effects of air
cycle mask A 18 pollution on blood pressure and
cycle mask B 15.2 heart rate variability.

cycle mask C 44.9 These were the results from

cycle mask D 17.2 penetration tests of various
mask types (Reference: 3)
surgical mask 20
best homemade mask 21
worst homemade mask 99
* I have added the homemade
cotton handkerchief 72 mask data from the more
recent Wake Forest Institute for
0 20 40 60 80 100 Regenerative Medicine
% Penetration
 WEARING RPE IN NON-SURGICAL SETTINGS
Things to consider:
Covid-19 has been recovered from face masks days after use, so
dispose of used materials accordingly
Covid-19 will survive on various surfaces for hours, even days
Covid-19 can also enter via the eyes, so consider eye protection
Try to ensure all PPE is as comfortable as possible to avoid fiddling
Determine good donning and doffing procedures for all PPE
Decontaminate any reusable PPE in line with manufacturers
guidelines
Soap and hot water or 70% alcohol (isopropyl alcohol/ ethanol)
destroy covid-19
 WEARING RPE IN HEALTHCARE SETTINGS

Staff are wearing PPE for 12 hours

sometimes longer

So far over 20,000 healthcare

workers have contracted covid-19

23% of people wearing N95 or

surgical masks in a pandemic
contract the disease

We need to consider if current

recommendations for RPE in a
pandemic are suitable and sufficient
 gary.pharo@srsafety.com
Q&A ukhelpdesk@srsafety.com

We Design & Manufacture

World Class Respiratory Protection

KEEP BREATHING
 REFERENCES
Legislation
➢ The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974
➢ COSHH - Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002
➢ CLAW - Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2002
➢ CA - Control of Asbestos Regulations
➢ EN 529:2005 - Respiratory protective devices. Recommendations for selection, use, care and maintenance
➢ HSG 53 - Respiratory protective equipment at work: A practical guide
➢ OC 282/28 - Guidance on respiratory protective equipment (RPE) fit testing

Scientific
1. Cough aerosol in healthy participants: fundamental knowledge to optimize droplet-spread infectious respiratory disease management
https://bmcpulmmed.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2466-12-11
Quantity and Size Distribution of Cough-Generated Aerosol Particles Produced by Influenza Patients During and After Illness
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4676262/

2. A cluster randomised trial of cloth masks compared with medical masks in healthcare workers
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275360639_A_cluster_randomised_trial_of_cloth_masks_compared_with_medical_masks_in_healthcare_workers
Testing the efficacy of homemade masks: would they protect in an influenza pandemic?
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24229526

3. Beneficial cardiovascular effects of reducing exposure to particulate air pollution with a simple facemask
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2662779/