Journal
JOURNAL OF AEROSOL MEDICINE AND PULMONARY DRUG DELIVERY
Volume 34, Issue 1, Pages 11-19Publisher
MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC
DOI: 10.1089/jamp.2020.1635
Keywords
community mask; filtration efficacy; airflow resistance; coronavirus; Sars-CoV-2; Covid
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The study tested the filtration efficiency and air resistance of reusable community masks from different manufacturers, showing a good correlation between the two measurements. For optimal protection, a rather airtight mask should be chosen, with the highest tolerable level of air resistance used as a selection criterion.
Background:Many countries have introduced a compulsory use of community masks for certain public areas during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Different manufacturers offer reusable community masks in large quantities. The efficacy of these masks, however, is unknown. Method:We tested available community masks of major manufactures and determined the filtration efficacy using radioactive aerosol particles as well as air resistance with a vacuum measurement. Results:Filtration efficacy of the tested reusable community masks ranged from 34.9% +/- 1.25% to 88.7% +/- 1.18%. Air resistance ranged from 4.3 +/- 0.06 to 122.4 +/- 0.12 Pa/cm(2). There was a good correlation between filtration efficacy and air resistance (Pearson correlation 0.938,p < 0.0001). Conclusions:Filtration efficacy and air resistance differ significantly between the different community masks, but the two measurements correlate well with each other within the entire test series. For optimal protection, one should select a rather airtight mask. When selecting a mask, the highest level of tolerable air resistance can be used as a selection criterion.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available