NIOSH N95 Respirators - The Basic Differences Between These And Normal Respirators

The U.S. dept. of health advises that those people who work in environments with questionable air safety put on N95 particulate masks in order to help prevent them from contracting diseases that emanate from such environments.

N95 respirators serve several different purposes. They are not limited to only filtering particulates, but also serve as a consistent reminder to the user that the particular environment is unsafe. By not even allowing the wearer to touch their mouths with their unclean hands, these masks serve another beneficial purpose. With regard to the design of NIOSH N95 particulate respirators, there exist safety guidelines for health care workers regarding the recommended face-fit. These regulations are promulgated by NIOSH (the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) which is an organization based in the USA and having its head office in the nation's capital, Washington DC. It's research labs are also in the following states: Georgia, California and Washington.

NIOSH is one of the parts of the Centre for Disease Control which is part of the U.S. health department, thus its mandates and policies can be based on reliably. It's this body that publishes standards for the so called NIOSH N95 dust respirators which is just a normal respirator but is produced under the standards mandated by NIOSH.

There is generally a flexible fiber pad that is held in place over the nose and mouth with the help of elastic or even rubber straps so as to prevent he or she from inhaling contaminants when working in a dusty place such as on a construction site. This NIOSH N95 dust mask is put on in the same way that a surgical mask is put on, but it is very important that one takes note of the difference as each of them serves a unique function, and using one when you should be using the other might expose you to pathological dangers.

It is also critically important to be able to fit your NIOSH N95 face masks in a manner consistent with the manufacturers instructions, as failure to do this exposes the wearer to potential risk. Dust respirators are supposed to protect wearers from certain specific dangers only. For example, a dust respirator will not protect the user from chemicals in the form of a vapor. You would protect ones self by wearing a paint respirator, but if you confuse the two and put on a dust respirator instead of a paint respirator, then you're truly exposed to the chemicals.

Regular dust masks are generally cheaper when compared with conventional masks but may provide the same amount of protection, and may also be less vulnerable to misuse. Some dust respiratorshave improvements that combine 2 straps around the head, usually one on the upper part of the head and the other over the lower part of the head with pieces of aluminum that one can bend in a bid to achieve a custom fit. There is also generally foam rubber on the inside of the mask to ensure a better fit even if the aluminum isn't able to be fit quite as snugly as it should.

The masks that have these improvements are generally subjected to controlled standards published by NIOSH and are thus referred to as NIOSH N95 masks where 'N' implies that the respirators are 'not oil resistant' and the '95' refers to its efficiency which is 95%.