Employers, to guarantee adequate protection, must choose and offer the right respirators to employees. To protect workers from lead aerosols that can irritate eyes or skin at use quantities, they must give them full-face respirators rather than half-mask ones. Also required are HEPA filters for motorized and unpowered air-purifying respirators. A FFR or full-face respirator covers the entire face, including the eyes, as opposed to a half face respirator (HFR), which just covers the mouth and nose.
Although both FFRs and half-face respirators are air-purifying respirators that remove pollutants from air before they can reach wearers, there are some significant distinctions between the two. Given the wide variety of FFRs and HFRs available, it’s important to keep in mind that the benefits listed below are generalizations that apply to the respirator class.
What are the Best Advantages of a Half-face Respirator?
Since half-face respirators are typically used in industrial settings, many manufacturers decide to include valves to reduce the wearer’s resistance to exhalation. Unfortunately, two-way filtering is essential to stopping the spread of diseases like COVID-19 and other ailments. It is critical to think about the significance of valves for this reason. Although industrial-focused half face respirator predominates, the market in the recent times is witnessing an increase in half-face respirators with a medical focus. Respirators need to filter particles in both directions to be utilized therapeutically, given that source management is just as crucial as screening inhaled particles. There are no valves on these devices.
The following are some of the main advantages of a half face respirator:
Good Fit
- Because the rubber seals used in half-face respirators are more forgiving, they typically offer a better fit. As a result, they are more likely to fit any particular person and keep a better seal when worn.
- While there are some exceptions, studies have shown that elastomeric half-face respirators are more flexible and fit a wider range of people without leaking.
Effective Protection
According to the CDC, elastomeric half face respirator provides at least equal to or more protection than N95 FFRs. Many half-face respirators offer better filtration and fit than their FFR counterparts, although the exact protection will vary depending on the respirators in question.
Flexibility
There are many different types of half-face respirators available, each offering a different range of protection. The respirators on this list all have particulate filters, but many also have filters for different gases and vapors. This means that half-face respirators can provide a greater level of protection than just particulate filtration.
Reusable
A half face respirator can be used hundreds or even thousands of times. Half-face respirators have user-replaceable filters while FFRs are designed for a single use only. Additionally, these replaceable filters frequently have longer life spans (for instance, the ElastoMaskPro filter can endure daily use for more than six months).
Seal-Checking
All NIOSH-certified products are made to be used in conjunction with expert fit-testing, which is known as seal-checking. A half face respirator, on the other hand, frequently offers much more readily available and efficient seal checking for general consumers without access to fit-testing. Contrary to FFRs, where the entire surface area is typically the filter, covering the valves and filters makes performing positive and negative seal checks on these respirators much simpler.
Washable
You will be glad to know that the majority of half-face respirators are easily washable if you intend to reuse one frequently. You can easily hand wash and sterilize the plastic and rubber mask after removing the filter cartridges.
Conclusion
It is crucial to take valve requirements into account before buying a half-face respirator. A valve will probably be useful if you intend to use such a respirator for DIY projects. But if you wish to utilize the mask to ward off infections, be sure there is no valve in place.
Some respirators have valve-filter attachments, such the 6000 series from 3M. The half face respirator can have these modifications added to it to enhance filtering to an exhalation valve. It is crucial to note that while they can offer some extent of two-way filtration, they are not NIOSH certified, and for approval purposes the respirators are still classified as having a valve.
