Evaluation of N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirators Challenged with Engineered Nanoparticles

NIOSH-certified respirators, including N95 respirators, are recommended when engineering and administrative controls do not adequately prevent exposures to airborne nanomaterials. Laboratory evaluations of filtering efficiency using standard test aerosols have been reported in the literature, but there is no information on penetration of engineered nanoparticles (1–100 nm) for N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FFR). This project evaluated the performance of two manufacturers’ N95 FFR filters challenged with engineered nanoparticle aerosols containing metal oxides (such as TiO2) and carbon (such as fullerenes and nanotubes) in contrast with a sodium chloride (NaCl) aerosol at flow rates of 30, 85, and 130 L min. For new respirator filters in general, NaCl aerosol penetration was less than 5% and the most penetrating particle size occurred at 40 nm. Overall penetration of the engineered nanoparticle aerosols exceeded 5% and was often greater than 5% at and near the most penetrating particle size (MPPS), which occurred at a larger particle size range (90– 150 nm). For respirators treated with isopropanol in which the electrostatic force was removed, penetration of NaCl and engineered nanoparticles increased substantially and the MPPS increased to 150 nm for both types of aerosols. Our results indicated that a possible reason for higher maximum penetrations and shift of MPPS observed for these engineered nanoparticles in the new respirators was related to electrostatic collection processes.