Analysis of Chemical Off-Gassing from Filtering Facepiece Respirators after Decontamination (PREPRINT)

A major concern among healthcare experts is a shortage of supplies during a pandemic. An item of particular interest is the N95 filtering facepiece respirator (FFR), which is responsible for protecting individuals from infectious aerosols. Most experts agree there will be a shortage of N95 FFRs if a severe pandemic occurs and one option for mitigating an FFR shortage is to decontaminate and reuse the devices. Many parameters must be studied to verify the effectiveness of this strategy: biocidal efficacy of the decontamination treatment, filtration performance, pressure drop, fit, and toxicity to the end user post treatment. The focus of this research effort was to measure chemical off-gassing of six types of FFRs following decontamination. Our data indicate that for disinfectants, such as hydrogen peroxide and bleach, the amount of residual decontaminants is below the Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL). Toxic by-products were also evaluated, and they were detected for ethylene oxide treatment of FFR rubber straps. These data are encouraging and may contribute to the evolution of effective strategies for decontamination and reuse of FFRs. Submitted to the Journal of Material Science, Springer edition.