If your job requires you to wear a respirator you may not be completely clear about the types that are available and which ones are more suitable for you.
Not all respirators are the same, and it can be difficult to know which one is the most appropriate for your work.
So we have looked at them and asked what are the three types of respirator?
Non-Surgical Filtering Facepiece Respirators
A non-surgical filtering respirator is an air-purifying respirator and is designed to effectively filter out particles that are airborne.
This includes dust but also viruses, bacteria, and other various respiratory hazards to create clean breathing air.
This makes them great dust masks for occupational safety and health, and to reduce employee exposure to harmful contaminants.
The facepiece respirator is intended to be a close fit to the face and the edges are designed to form a seal around the mouth and nose to prevent entry for respiratory hazards and provide you with clean breathing air.
They are generally disposable.
The non-surgical filtering facepiece respirator can be used in many settings including healthcare and construction.
No matter what context they are used in, they are great for worker protection, or even for those working in confined spaces where respiratory hazards may be common in the breathing air.
Attributes
These masks are manufactured to be used in construction and other industries to protect the wearer from respiratory hazards such as airborne dust and small particles.
Others are specifically designed to be used in healthcare settings to provide plenty of breathing air, thanks to the particulate filters.
Most are certified as a particulate respirator and can effectively provide a barrier to viruses and bacteria, while still allowing plenty of respirable air in, to help protect workers.
As well as the filtration function some of these respirators have a coating which also kills microorganisms, further helping to protect workers.
Some models have exhalation valves which reduce heat build up in the facepiece, which helps to make it easier to supply air to the one wearing it.
Advantages
One of the main advantages of a non-surgical filtering facepiece respirator is that they are relatively inexpensive compared to some of the other more complex respirators that have advanced respirator filters, that can kill off or trap airborne contaminants that are immediately dangerous, especially to those working in confined spaces.
They are also low maintenance requiring minimal care.
Many are single-use and therefore disposable, which can take a load off of the mind of respirator users that make frequent use of protective equipment.
As protective equipment goes, this is easily some of the very best.
There are many variations of this type of respirator with three separate designations according to the intended use and needs of the wearer.
Within these three categories there are many subsets of respirator, based on the intended respirator use or the respiratory hazard that it is protecting the wearer from.
Limitations
These respirators do have their limitations, however. The first is that they are not suitable for people with facial hair and are only truly effective on clean shaven individuals.
This is because they will not achieve the required close fit on those with facial hair.
It is also recommended to implement some fit testing to ensure that the masks properly fit, and allow plenty of air supply while still adhering to recommended exposure limits.
They also don’t always work well in conjunction with safety glasses which may be necessary in certain situations.
While these masks provide plenty of breathable air and non contaminated air, that air can then produce condensation on glasses or other eye protection, thanks to the ambient air in the room.
People who suffer from chronic respiratory problems or those with cardiac conditions may find it difficult to wear these respirators.
Examples
As we have noted there are three designations of these respirators, N, R and P. These letters denote the filter’s resistance to oil.
N designated respirators filter 95-99.98% of airborne particulate matter. They are not resistant to oil.
R designated respirators filter the same percentage of airborne particles but are somewhat resistant to oil.
P respirators again filter the same percentage of airborne particles but are strongly resistant to oil.
Elastomeric Respirators
Elastomeric respirators are also air-purifying and come in half mask, quarter mask, and full face mask forms!
These are reusable and come with filters that can be replaced.
This makes them fantastic as protective equipment that is environmentally conscious and yet still allows for perfect respirator use that is great for disease control.
There are many uses for elastomeric respirators including healthcare, construction, or anyone working with aerosol products.
The masks are designed to be a tight fit to the face, and they come in multiple sizes.
This makes them perfect if you often deal with loose fitting respirators that just aren't effective when it comes to respirator use and cannot remove contaminants or any other respiratory hazard.
They can be disinfected and reused once fitted with a new filtration cartridge.
Attributes
These respirators are very effective in filtering airborne particles like dust and other particulate matter.
They also filter out viruses and bacteria and fit tightly around the face, which in turn protects your respiratory system.
There are two types of elastomeric respirator, a full face which also protects the eyes and a half face which just covers the nose and mouth. Both are available in multiple sizes.
It is also possible to clean, disinfect and reuse these respirators.
Advantages
One of the major advantages of these respirators is that they can be reused. In fact, one elastomeric respirator is equivalent to using 576 filtering facepiece respirators.
This not only makes them more sustainable but also reduces the overall costs of protecting a workforce.
The full face elastomeric respirators also protect your eyes and so negate the need for a separate pair of safety glasses. They are also a relatively low cost respirator.
Limitations
One of the limitations of this type of respirator is that the wearer needs to be clean shaven.
Anyone with facial hair will find it hard to get a good, tight fit on the mask which will render it less effective at protecting their respiratory system.
The half face elastomeric respirator may be difficult to wear with safety glasses. If you wear prescription glasses then you may not be able to comfortably use this respirator.
Examples
Examples include most 3M elastomeric face pieces which have a 3M particulate filter including 7093 filters, P100 filters, 5N11 and 5P71 pre-filter assemblies.
There are also the 2000 series disc filters and the 6092X series filter cartridge.
The elastomeric respirators are available in a full face version and a half face version all of which can be bought in a variety of sizes.
Powered Air-Purifying Respirators (PAPRs)
A powered air-purifying respiratory is used to protect the wearer from aerosol particles, vapors, and gases.
It supplies clean air from a separate source via a hose, making them truly effective respiratory protective equipment and a proper respirator.
There are different types of powered air-purifying respirators including the self contained breathing apparatus such as the ones that firefighters use.
These respirators offer a higher level of protection than the facepiece respirators as they encompass the whole head area.
Attributes
These respirators effectively filter out airborne particles including dust, bacteria and viruses.
They can be worn by those with facial hair unlike the other respirators we have looked at and they can also be cleaned and disinfected.
The powered air-purifying respirators provide their own atmosphere and come in a variety of styles and head top choices as well as loose and tight fits.
Advantages
Apart from supplying its own air, another major advantage of the powered air-purifying respirator is the increased comfort and low breathing burden for the wearer.
The various head openings also allow for more of the wearer’s face to be visible to others.
It’s also possible for those with limited facial hair to wear one of these respirators where the other facepiece masks are not suitable.
Limitations
There are limitations and disadvantages to the powered air-purifying respirator. One of these disadvantages is the weight and size as it can be cumbersome.
It also requires more cleaning and maintenance.
The system uses batteries which need to be recharged occasionally to ensure continuity of protection.
There is also the need to store something of this size safely away until needed.
Examples
The types of powered air-purifying respirator are a supplied air respirator, a self-contained breathing apparatus and a combination of the two.
This latter uses the self-contained apparatus if the supplied air respirator fails.
An example of a standard air-purifying respirator is the Versaflo Easy Clean PAPR Kit from 3M which actually features a disposable hood.
There’s also the heavy industry and painter’s versions.
In Conclusion
There are many different types of respirator on the market and the one that you choose should be the most appropriate for the work that you are carrying out.
We hope that this guide to the three types of respirator has been of use to you and has helped you narrow down your choices.