The Foundation of COVID Mitigation Strategy Should be Mask Effectiveness 

Cummins is Making Masks with Uniquely Charged Meltblowns

BelEmsa  Producing 200 Million Masks per Month

H+V will Expand to 100 Million Mask Equivalents per Year

___________________________________________________________________________

 

The Foundation of COVID Mitigation Strategy Should be Mask Effectiveness 

The strategy to defeat COVID should be based on use of highly efficient masks. All other options are more costly and less effective with the exception of total lockdowns. The virus spread with near normal activity but correct use of CATER 95 masks will be less than if there is a partial lockdown and use of ASTM 20 masks. 

The strategy which treats all masks as equal makes little sense. It is the equivalent of saying that whether a room has one occupant or 100 the risks are the same. In fact if all occupants are wearing CATER 95 masks the risk is equivalent to the room with one unmasked occupant. If every one of the 100 people is wearing  an ASTM 20 mask you have the equivalent of 71 unmasked people. This 70 to 1 ratio means that mask efficiency should be the cornerstone of COVID policy.

The following examples were calculated based on available information for various types of masks. The net efficiency equals the media efficiency less leaks.

The leaks are derived from fit testing and cannot be precisely quantified in a given case. One comprehensive set of tests with a CATER 95 masks showed leakage between 2 and 8 %. The actual leakage depends on the face, the mask dimensions and construction. Where suppliers can show a range of mask sizes and extensive testing under various motion conditions a low leakage level can be assessed. In the case of the upcoming ASTM standards the leakage declaration is left to the manufacturer with little assurance that low leakage will be achieved in any specific situation.

Masks are worn by the both the transmitter and the recipient. So the total virus inhaled becomes a function of the removal in the two sets of masks.

 

The CATER 95 mask is therefore 71 times more effective at preventing virus inhalation than is an ASTM 20 mask. Granted that fitness and other variables are not precisely quantified but this is a reasonable comparison.

Another approach is to compare combined efficiency.

If the decision is made on a basis of comparative efficiency it is easy to argue that a less efficient mask is better than nothing. At least an ASTM 20 will remove 29% of the virus if worn by all.  But when you consider that it allows 71 times as much virus to penetrate as does a CATER 95 mask this is a powerful metric and one that can be used in a total plan which includes social distancing, HVAC, and lockdowns.

The selection of more efficient masks can be viewed from the perspective of resumption of more normal behavior.

Rigorous Social distancing including prevention of large gatherings could have an effect of reducing virus inhalation by 40%.  If partial lockdown is combined with ASTM 20 masks a total reduction of 79% might be achieved. It could be argued that if everyone wore CATER 95 mask you could eliminate most social distancing. In the case of bars fan filter units and directional air flow would be needed because of the need to remove masks while drinking or eating.

The value of CATER 95 masks is even greater compared to alternatives when you consider that air pollution, wildfires and other air contaminants are equally important. Hypothetically let’s assume a total load which is 200% of the COVID. So the COVID load could equal 50% of the contamination (100), colds and other virus related infections are 10% (20) and air pollutants and other air contaminants are 40% (80).  The graph then reflects a total contaminant load of 200

It is clear that the benefit of CATER 95 masks is far superior to the alternatives when all pollutants are considered. Social distancing does not reduce the amount of air pollutants inhaled.

Mask efficiency should be the basis of all the social distancing, lockdowns, school, bar and  restaurant openings. If everyone wears a highly efficient mask there will be the ability to return to near normal activities while reducing the COVID spread.

Ignoring mask efficiency is as illogical as saying social distancing of one foot or one mile should be treated equally. The mask protection has been proven in every pandemic. Doctors were kept safe from EBOLA by wearing masks and taking other protections. The  highly efficient masks provided the 99 % protection but other PPE assured that the protection was 99.9999%.

It is recommended that we immediately change our strategy and consider mask effectiveness as the foundation of any program.


Cummins is Making Masks with Uniquely Charged Meltblowns

Cummins is making material for millions of face masks out of its Cookeville, TN, filtration plant — thanks to a partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory nearby.

“Because of our expertise in the automotive filtration industry, we believed we could adapt to supply the filter media used in the face masks worn by healthcare providers, which are also in high demand across the nation,” Christopher Holm, director of filter media technology and IP at Cummins, said in a news release posted yesterday.

Oak Ridge’s Carbon Fiber Technology Facility meanwhile worked with Peter Tsai, the inventor of N95 filter media, to develop a novel in-line charging device that could be placed on the precursor production line to electrostatically charge melt-blown material made of polypropylene or PP. Electrostatically charging the material with millions of microfibers layered on top of each other creates a filter material able to remove more than 95% of submicron particles and viruses such as the one that causes COVID-19.

“We reached our target goal in only a few weeks on pilot scale melt blowing capability at the CFTF and had the capability to produce filter media for 9,000 masks per hour when we connected with Cummins for potential technology transfer and scale up,” said Merlin Theodore, director of the CFTF at Oak Ridge. “Cummins was an ideal partner to scale what we had accomplished and helped us produce material that passed all required testing for filter media.”

ORNL’s research team designed and manufactured a custom electrostatic charging device for Cummins, assisting in the installation of the device on the company’s Cookeville facility production line.

“Their research has made it possible to be where we are today,” Holm said. “We can manufacture material that has passed all the required testing for N95 filter media.”

Two months ago, Cummins had never produced filter media for face masks. Today, it’s already shipped material to multiple customers across the country for the production of millions of masks.

BelEmsa Producing 200 Million Masks per Month

BelEmsa, one of the leading manufacturers of disposable hygienic products, has increased mask production to 200 million pieces per month in Europe, according to Aleksandr Kolesnov, the first deputy director of BelEmsa in an article in Nonwovens Industry.

In the fight against the novel coronavirus, medical masks are a vital item for healthcare workers on the frontline. Kolesnov states, “We are fully aware that access to PPE is challenging and we must secure the production of such an important item to encourage business organizations and public health through the recovery period.”

Detailed research on face masks have been conducted by the BelEmsa R&D project team since the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak, Kolesnov adds. “We were aware that performance and comfort requirements must be offered under hygienic conditions due to public needs. We applied extensive know-how accumulated through our experience and created soft ear loop masks for perfect fit and comfortable use. Meanwhile, BelEmsa worked closely with EC accredited laboratories and German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) for manufacturing facilities at European standards.

"We risk significant amount of funds and invested millions in machinery, raw materials, hundreds of new employees and factory space to manufacture an item projected to have a short-lived demand. However, contributing to society has become one of our key priorities under the current circumstances,” he continues.

According to Kolesnov, BelEmsa has never experienced challenges in nonwoven materials, logistics and other key equipment thanks to its long standing experience and reputation in the hygiene industry. He adds, “We have always been a reliable partner to the governments and healthcare institutions to ensure high-quality medical products."

Kolesnov ends, “I’m proud of the fantastic efforts of our operational team who took our business out of China and brought to home. BelEmsa become the first company producing what it says is a unique comfortable ear loop mask in Europe and offering this innovative item with the Senso Med brand since June.”

 

H+V will Expand to 100 Million Mask Equivalents per Year

The Department of Defense (DOD), in coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has awarded a $2.5 million contract to nonwovens manufacturer Hollingsworth & Vose, to increase domestic production capability of filter media.

This industrial base expansion effort will allow Hollingsworth & Vose to increase production capacity to 100 million mask equivalents per year in Floyd, VA by October 2021, to support the production of filter media.

The DOD’s Defense Assisted Acquisition Cell led this effort in coordination with the Department of the Air Force’s Acquisition COVID-19 Task Force. This effort, funded through the HHS Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, supports domestic industrial base expansion for critical medical resources.