06 Jul 09 N95 Masks - The Basic Differences Between These And Regular Old Dust Masks

The department of health suggests that those people who work in environments with challenged air quality put on NIOSH N95 face respirators in order to prevent them from contracting diseases that stem from such environments.

NIOSH N95 masks serve many purposes. They are not limited to only filtering particulates, but also act as a consistent reminder for the user that the particular environment is dangerous. By ensuring that the wearer doesn’t touch their mouths with their unclean hands, these respirators serve an additional protective purpose. With regard to the design of N95 respirators, there exist safety guidelines for health care workers regarding recommended face-fit. These guidelines are mandated by NIOSH (the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) which is located in the USA and having its head office in the nation’s capital, Washington. It’s research laboratories and offices are also in the following states: New York, California and Washington.

NIOSH is a sub organization of the CDC which is essentially part of the U.S. department of health, thus its mandates and standards can be based on reliably. It’s this body that standardizes the so called N95 dust masks which is very similar to a normal mask but is manufactured under the standards regulated by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Incorporated in the design, there is generally a flexible fiber pad that is held over the nose and mouth with the help of elastic or even rubber straps so as to protect he or she from inhaling dust when working in a dusty environment such as on a job site. This N95 particulate mask is put on in the same way that a paint mask is put on, but one should note the difference as each of them serves a different function, and using one when you should be using the other might expose you to pathological dangers.

It is equally important to be able to fit your N95 respirators properly, as failure to fit the mask properly exposes the wearer to potential risk. Dust masks are designed to protect wearers from specific dangers only. For instance, a dust mask will not protect the wearer against chemicals in the form of a mist. You would protect ones self by wearing a paint mask, but if you confuse the two and use a dust mask in place of a paint respirator, then you are truly exposed to the chemicals.

Regular dust respirators are generally cheaper when compared with conventional respirators but may provide a similar amount of protection, and may be even less predisposed to misuse. Many dust respiratorshave advancements that incorporate 2 straps around the head, usually one on the upper and the other on the lower with strips of aluminum that one can bend in a bid to achieve a custom fit. There is also generally foam rubber on the inside of the mask to ensure a better fit even if the aluminum is not able to be fit quite as snugly as it should.

The respirators that incorporate these improvements are generally subjected to standards put forward by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and are thus referred to as N95 particulate respirators where ‘N’ tells us ‘not oil resistant’ and the ‘ninety-five’ is a reference to its efficiency which is 95%.