A simple HEPA filtering facepiece

Phillip W Clapp; Conor A Ruzycki; James M Samet; Kirby L Zeman; Jon Berntsen; Emily Sickbert-Bennett; David J Weber; Warren H Finlay; Andrew R Martin; William D Bennett; Kenneth H Wilson

doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2021.04.085

A simple HEPA filtering facepiece

Am J Infect Control. 2021 Sep;49(9):1206-1209. doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2021.04.085. Epub 2021 May 8.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC.
² Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
³ Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC.
⁴ Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC.
⁵ TRC, Raleigh, NC.
⁶ Infection Prevention Department, UNC Health Care, Chapel Hill, NC.
⁷ Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC.
⁸ Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC. Electronic address: kenneth.wilson@duke.edu.

PMID: 33971283
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2021.04.085

Abstract

Shortages of efficient filtering facepiece respirators leave the public vulnerable to transmission of infectious diseases in small particle aerosols. This study demonstrates that a high-filtration-efficiency facepiece capable of filtering out >95% of 0.05μm particles while being worn can be simply produced with available materials.

Keywords: Aerosols; Airborne particulate matter; COVID-19, mask; Communicable disease transmission; N95 respirator; Personal protective equipment.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Aerosols
Filtration
Humans
Occupational Exposure*
Respiratory Protective Devices*
Ventilators, Mechanical

Substances

Aerosols

Grants and funding

U54 CK000483/CK/NCEZID CDC HHS/United States