Respiratory protection is critical to minimize the risk of occupational diseases for workers exposed to respirable dust. Filtering facepiece respirators are the most widely used for respiratory protection. Respirator fit-testing is required before using to ensure that the selected respirator provides an adequate face seal to prevent the leakage of particulate matter resulting in inadequate protection. Low-cost sensors based on light scattering sensors could realize the function of particle counting. In this paper, the LCS was compared with PortaCount (with and without the N95-Companion™), which is a measuring instrument used in the procedure for determining the fit factor of the particulate filtering facepiece respirator in the NIOSH standard. Fit factors of different models of filter respirators were measured by the two measuring systems under laboratory conditions. The relationship between the measurement results from the two measuring systems was determined. Linear regression analysis was used to calculate the association between the LCS system and the reference device. There is a strong correlation between the test results of the two systems. Based on the obtained data, the light scattering sensor has the potential to be used for the fit test.
 

occupational health and safety