Respiratory hazards risk assessment to determine the protection factor of mask in one of the hospitals affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences

Employees in hospitals and healthcare centers are exposed to a wide range of respiratory contaminants, such as biological and chemical contaminants. To protect employees against these hazards, it is necessary to use respiratory masks with appropriate protection factor. This study aimed to assess respiratory hazards risk to determine the protection factor of mask in one of the hospitals affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences.
In this cross-sectional study, initially Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) method was used to determine the groups and job duties including respiratory protection program. Then, protection factor of the required respiratory masks in the jobs including respiratory protection program was determined by the recommended method by Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail (IRSST).
The results of this study showed that for the present number of respiratory contaminants in the hospital, N95/FFP2 respirators have not sufficiently degree of protection and it is essential to use respirators with higher protection factor such as full face PAPR (Powered Air-Purifying Respirator) or have helmet/hood with cartridge A1B1P3.
In situations where there is no possibility to measure and evaluate respiratory contaminants, especially biological contaminants that have no standard measurement methods and occupational exposure limit, using the qualitative (semi-quantitative) method presented by IRSST can be effective in determining the protection factor of mask and the type of respiratory mask.