In case someone's planning on hitting the home store for something like a P100 you might find there, here's a little decoder.
> Modern filter media uses a built-in static charge to attract and retain particles as they are pulled through. Some grades of filter can have this static charge ruined when in contact with oil mist. The letter in a mask’s name tells you whether or not the mask can resist oil: N masks are not oil resistant, P masks are oil proof, and R masks are oil resistant.
> The number in a rating tells you the minimum amount of airborne challenge particles the mask protects against: an N95 mask keeps out at least 95% of particles but isn’t oil resistant, and a P100 mask is oil proof while protecting the wearer from at least 99.8% of particles.
In light of Surgeon General tweet [1] demanding Americans stop buying masks because they’re not effective, to save them for healthcare workers who need them, here is some info from the manufacturer:
> In conclusion, surgical/procedure masks are intended to help put a barrier between the wearer and the work environment or sterile field. They may help keep spit and mucous generated by the wearer from reaching a patient or medical equipment. They can also be used as a fluid barrier to help keep blood splatter from reaching the wearer’s mouth and nose.
> However, surgical/procedure masks cannot provide certified respiratory protection unless they are also designed, tested, and government-certified as a respirator. If a wearer wants to reduce inhalation of smaller, inhalable particles (those smaller than 100 microns), they need to obtain and properly use a government-certified respirator, such as a NIOSH-certified N95 filtering facepiece particulate respirator. If the wearer needs a combination surgical/procedure mask and a particulate respirator, they should use a product that is both cleared by FDA as a surgical/procedure mask and tested and certified by NIOSH as a particulate respirator. Such products are sometimes called a "medical respirator," "health care respirator," or "surgical N95."
Includes decision tree highlighting potential considerations for the selection of respirators verses surgical/procedure masks.
1. Tweet text:
Seriously people- STOP BUYING MASKS!
They are NOT effective in preventing
general public from catching #Coronavirus,
but if healthcare providers can’t get
them to care for sick patients, it
puts them and our communities at risk!
> Modern filter media uses a built-in static charge to attract and retain particles as they are pulled through. Some grades of filter can have this static charge ruined when in contact with oil mist. The letter in a mask’s name tells you whether or not the mask can resist oil: N masks are not oil resistant, P masks are oil proof, and R masks are oil resistant.
> The number in a rating tells you the minimum amount of airborne challenge particles the mask protects against: an N95 mask keeps out at least 95% of particles but isn’t oil resistant, and a P100 mask is oil proof while protecting the wearer from at least 99.8% of particles.
https://pksafety.com/blog/respiratory-basics-n95-vs-p100/