Respirator performance for STEL exposures in thermal environments

Thesis/Dissertation · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 UTC 1987

OSTI ID:5786733

Visage, M D

An irritant smoke qualitative field test procedure was developed and used to evaluate the performance of rubber and silicone facepiece models of a half-mask air-purifying respirator under thermal and non-thermal working conditions for 37 maintenance workers at a coal-fired, electrical power generation plant. Prior to participating in field testing, subjects were screened using an irritant smoke qualitative fit test. During initial fit testing, 30% of the subjects failed to fit, and additional failures in subsequent tests resulted in an overall failure rate of 42%. The subjects experienced respiratory failures in both thermal and non-thermal environments even after the poor fits had been eliminated by the use of a fit test. Over 90% of the failures in the thermal environment and all of the failures in the non-thermal environment occurred within the first 9 min of the 15-min test period. The effectiveness of respirators of both facepiece materials was decreased significantly (p < .05) during thermal working conditions. Half-mask respirators of the type studied were found to provide inadequate protection for STEL exposures in thermal environments and may be inappropriate for use for a large percentage of working population. The irritant smoke qualitative field test procedure was shown to be effective for evaluating short-term performance of negative pressure, half-mask respirators, providing there are no interfering air currents, where HEPA or HEPA combination cartridges will provide adequate respiratory protection.

• Research Organization: Oklahoma Univ., Oklahoma City (USA). Health Sciences Center
• OSTI ID: 5786733
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
010900* -- Coal
Lignite
&amp; Peat-- Environmental Aspects
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
COAL
ENERGY SOURCES
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
MATERIALS
PARTICLES
PARTICULATES
PERFORMANCE
POWER PLANTS
RESPIRATORS
TEMPERATURE EFFECTS