Performance evaluation of respiratory masks used by refractory workers in controlling exposure against particulate pollutants in a steel factory

Dust is one of the harmful factors in some working environments. One of the way to reduce exposure to dust in these environments is to use air purifying masks. Therefore, the purpose of this study was Performance evaluation of respiratory masks used by refractory workers in controlling exposure against particulate pollutants in a steel factory.
The performance of three types of masks against particle contamination was evaluated in this study. To evaluate performance, during the work and simultaneously the concentration of particles in inside and outside of the mask was measured then the percentage of efficiency and percentage of penetration rate was calculated.
Findings: The average of penetration rate percentage in the FFP3 mask was higher than FFP2 and elastomeric halfmask with a P100 filter. Performance evaluation of FFP2 and FFP3 masks based on of consumption time showed that during the first few hours of consumption efficiency decreased and then increased.
Resistance surface of filter and air penetration from free space between face and around the mask is the main factor of poor performance masks.