Is there any upside of using N95 masks instead of N99 or N100 to protect against COVID-19?
One of the most commonly used masks/recommended to protect against COVID-19 is N95.
Is there any upside of using N95 masks instead of N99 or N100 to protect against COVID-19?
N95 which filter 95% of particulates, while N99 or N100 filter 99% and 99.97%, respectively.
For example:
Health officials recommend medical staff wear so-called N95 masks because they filter out about 95% of all liquid or airborne particles.
The N95 equivalent in Europe is FFP2, the N99/100 equivalent in Europe is FFP3, and the N95 equivalent in South Korea is KF94.
Prior research: www.health.com/condition/infectious-diseases/n95-respirator-mask-coronavirus
Infectious disease expert Amesh A. Adalja, MD, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, tells Health that the N95 is still the recommended face mask for health professionals, because it has the capacity to filter out very small particles that could possibly contain the virus. “This is different than a surgical mask, which can only stop larger droplets,” says Dr. Adalja.
emag.medicalexpo.com/which-masks-actually-protect-against-coronavirus/
In the United States, respirators must meet NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) standards. Within this standard, there are several classes of respirators depending on the degree of oil resistance:
Class N: no oil resistance. A distinction is made between N95, N99 and N100. The number after the letter indicates the percentage of filtration of suspended particles
www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-face-masks-not-entirely-effective-2020-1
When worn correctly, N95 respirators block out at least 95% of small airborne particles. So the respirators can filter out some droplets carrying coronavirus. The coronavirus itself measures between .05 and 0.2 microns in diameter, according to a recent article in The Lancet.
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Yes, there are several "upsides" as you put it.
It's cheaper
It's easier to breath in
It's sufficient for catching particles smaller than it's actually designed for...
Now, that last point is what's important. According to 3M's own documentes on various types of filters and masks, it seem that there's an electrostatic effect between the layers of the filters and the particles hitting it. So:
filter "grid" does not have to be smaller than the particles themselves
Apparently because of the electrostatic effects, particles are attracted to - and prefer to stick to, the fibers of the filter.
From [2]:
Because of the various mechanisms by which particulate filtration occurs, the smallest particles are typically not the most difficult to filter. Most particulate filters have a region of lower filtration efficiency somewhere between 0.05-0.5 ?m.1 Particles in this range are large enough to be less effectively pushed around by diffusion, but small enough to be less effectively captured by interception or impaction. The most penetrating particle size (MPPS) will depend on the filter media, air flow, and electrostatic charge on the particle. Filters that use electrostatic attraction may have a MPPS shifted to a slightly smaller size range.
Appendix A (equivalent mask standards) 1
N95 (United States NIOSH-42CFR84)
FFP2 (Europe EN 149-2001)
KN95 (China GB2626-2006)
P2 (Australia/New Zealand AS/NZA 1716:2012)
Korea 1st class (Korea KMOEL - 2017-64)
DS (Japan JMHLW-Notification 214, 2018)
Appendix B (Classiifcations) [2]
Standard Classification Filter Efficiency
NIOSH 42 CFR 84 N95 ? 95%
NIOSH 42 CFR 84 N99 ? 99%
NIOSH 42 CFR 84 N100 ? 99.97%
EN 149:2001 FFP1 (filtering facepiece) ? 80%
EN 149:2001 FFP2 (filtering facepiece) ? 94%
EN 149:2001 FFP3 (filtering facepiece) ? 99%
EN 143:2000, EN 140:1999, EN136:1998 P1 (elastomeric facepiece) ? 80%
EN 143:2000, EN 140:1999, EN136:1998 P2 (elastomeric facepiece) ? 94%
EN 143:2000, EN 140:1999, EN136:1998 P3 (elastomeric facepiece) ? 99.95%
GB2626-2006 KN/KP90 ? 90%
GB2626-2006 KN/KP95 ? 95%
GB2626-2006 KN/KP100 ? 99.97%
References:
1 comparison-ffp2-kn95-n95-filtering-facepiece-respirator-classes
[2] Respiratory Protection for Airborne Exposures to Biohazards
[3] faq
[4] Mask shelf-life
[5] Various disposable
[6] 3M Disposable Respirators for Personal Safety
[7] Surgical N95 vs. Standard N95
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