Coronavirus
Technology Solutions
Value of Mask
Fitters is Now Being Understood by CDC
Nanofiber Media Segmented into 300 nm with Wide
Distribution Versus <100 nm with Narrow
Distribution
Research Consortium has a Counterfeit Mask Alert
Guide
Facemask Market and Technologies Webinar on
Tuesday
McIlvaine Face Mask Market Presentation
India is in a Crisis and Needs Tight Fitting
Efficient Masks
______________________________________________________________________________
Value of Mask
Fitters is Now Being Understood by CDC
When Dr. Anthony Fauci heads to work at the
White House or the National Institutes of
Health, the nation's top infectious-disease
expert is often sporting not one but two face
masks.
He's said this double-masking strategy helps his
masks fit more snugly and comfortably. But
double masking hasn't been backed up by any
studies or scientific recommendations.
Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention are testing whether two masks are
better than one, but they don't have enough
evidence to recommend it.
In the meantime, there's one lab-tested solution
that can make almost any mask more effective:
the mask brace.
Also called a mask fitter, the brace goes on
over a single face
mask to ensure a snug, secure fit and to
close any gaps where contaminated air could rush
in or escape. In scientific
studies from research
universities around the US, it's
performed nearly as
well as N95s, considered gold-standard
medical face masks.
Mask fitters are designed to help the mask hug
the contours of your face.
"These reusable devices help improve the fit of
a cloth or a medical mask by creating a tight
fit," Dr. John Brooks, the chief medical officer
for the CDC's COVID-19 response, recently told
reporters during a virtual briefing from the Infectious
Diseases Society of America.
Unlike double masking, he said, "fitters have been
scientifically demonstrated to improve
filtration performance by as much as 90% or
more, which, again, is getting into that range
of filtration efficiency afforded by N95
respirators."
Fitters have been tested by independent
scientists at the University
of Wisconsin, the University
of North Carolina, and the University
of Iowa. Each institution found that they
improved how well masks worked to keep your
germs away from other people and to keep other
people's germs away from you.
"Most masks, like surgical-style masks or just a
simple knit cloth mask, they're leaking," David
Rothamer, a mechanical engineer who coauthored
the University of Wisconsin's recent study on
mask fitters, told Insider. "Like 70% or
80% of the air is bypassing the mask."
Rothamer also said that double masking could, in
some cases, do more harm than good.
"It's not as simple as a 'two is better than
one' equation," he said. By creating more
pressure between a person's face and their mask,
double masking could
increase leaks out of the sides and the
top of the masks.
But it's hard to know whether that's the case,
because there haven't been good, clear protocols
established to help you know whether your mask
is working well.
"I wish the government would have kind of
stepped in and, at least from the mask side,
given better guidance," Rothamer said. "The
somewhat frustrating thing is I think there was
an opportunity to say, 'OK, we can use
scientists to design this, use experts, design
something that's cheap to produce, do it at high
quantities, and get these things out there.'"
That didn't happen. Sabrina Paseman, a former
Apple engineer, created a crowdfunding
campaign last spring to get the job done. Her
brace is what researchers including
Rothamer have used in their studies. It has also
been unofficially endorsed by many leading
coronavirus scientists, including Don
Milton, a virus expert from the
University of Maryland, and Linsey
Marr, an air-quality pro from Virginia
Tech.
Katherine and Sabrina Paseman, sisters and
cofounders of Fix the Mask.
Paseman's company, Fix
the Mask, has estimated that 30,000 of
its mask fitters are in use on faces around the
world. (Some of those are DIY versions from a rubber
template the company shares on its
website.)
"There are three things that matter with your
mask: how well it filters, how breathable it is,
and how well it fits," Katherine Paseman, the
chief operating officer of Fix the Mask, told
Insider.
To make sure your mask is breathable, put the
mask on with a fitter or with your hands cupped
around your nose and mouth to seal it, and
ensure that you can still breathe comfortably.
It may inflate a little as you're doing this
test, but it should feel like air is being
filtered through the mask, not escaping
out the sides or the top.
Then ensure that it fits snugly and that there
aren't large gaps above the mask on your cheeks
or on the sides.
One way to secure the fit is to tighten the ends
of your ear loops using rubber bands or rubber
fasteners. But research
has found that mask fitters can make your
mask even more effective — closer to the
effectiveness of an N95 mask.
"It's one compression-molded piece made out of
silicone," Paseman said, adding that this avoids
leakage so that "I know I'm actually getting the
real filtration performance out of the mask."
Fix the Mask is hoping to receive
certification from the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health for its
product in the coming months. That could mean
it's recommended for use — along with
compatible, approved masks — for millions of
workers in high-risk environments across the
country.
Whether you're double masking, using a mask
brace, or doing neither, it's important to know
that most masks on the market aren't rated to
any uniform medical-grade standard.
"You have basically an unregulated bunch of
products," Rothamer said. "Nobody really knows
how they perform, unless you're someone like me
who has a couple hundred thousand dollars' worth
of equipment to test it."
If you want to ensure that you're wearing a mask
of good filtration quality, try to find one
that's ASTM-certified
level one, two, or three: Level one is
good enough for general use in everyday clinical
settings, while level three is for filtering
heavy levels of aerosols.
Whichever mask you choose, and whether you
decide to double mask or not, pick a solution
that you'll actually wear and feel comfortable
in — one that keeps both your nose and your
mouth inside.
"If we could just get people to wear masks
properly, that would be a huge first step,"
Rothamer said. "You've got to wear the mask, and
it has to fit well."
All the experts can agree on that.
"Any mask is better than no mask," Brooks said.
"Regardless of what we use, it's critical that
as many of us as possible mask up."
Nanofiber Media Segmented into 300 nm with Wide
Distribution Versus <100 nm with Narrow
Distribution
McIlvaine published a summary of
the new nanofiber production method by
KAIST and then asked some the experts such as
Kari Luukkonen of Fibertex as to how this
development should be viewed. The result was the
view that there are two products.
·
300 nm fiber diameter average with wide
distribution
·
100 nm fiber diameter with a narrow distribution
In the article we wrote “ KAIST researchers have
developed a novel nanofiber production technique
called 'centrifugal multispinning' that will
open the door for the safe and cost-effective
mass production of high-performance polymer
nanofibers. This new technique, which has shown
up to a 300 times higher nanofiber production
rate per hour than that of the conventional
electrospinning method, has many potential
applications including the development of face
mask filters for coronavirus protection”
It was suggested that
this technology is similar to others e.g.
DuPont hybrid technology and similar Cummins
technology.
FiberRio force spinning (Parker) makes similar
products. The nanofiber created have quite wide
fiber diameter distribution from 100 nm to 700
nm, average being typically around 300-400 nm.
The upside with this technology is the large
output. Products coming from this fiber diameter
range are most suited for applications where
some depth and strength (=enough weight) from
the fine fiber layer is required.
The largest application is diesel fuel
filtration and oil filtration.
This
product is being used in
mask
materials. Suppliers are Cummins, DuPont and
Parker. Pardam in Czech Republic
has one
machine based on FiberRio technology.
For the higher end surface and depth air
filtration the 100 nm and below nanofiber with
very precise fiber distribution (plus minus 20
nm) gives the best efficiency / pressure drop
ratio. These are done with solvent
electrospinning either by wire or nozzle type of
machines.
Also for the textile membranes and other
membranes for venting and liquid filtration
solvent electrospun (wire or nozzle) gives most
uniform pore size. The more narrow the fiber
size distribution the more precise is the pore
size and elimination of pin holes in the
product. By measuring bubble point this can be
observed easily.
Research Consortium has a Counterfeit Mask Alert
Guide
The Research
Consortium announced the
availability of a guide to alert consumers to
the emergence of substandard and counterfeit
reusable face coverings and equip them to
identify and avoid them.
Concerned that face coverings vary greatly in
their effectiveness at source control and wearer
protection, under the oversight of the CDC’s
National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health, the ASTM International standards
organization created a new international
standard for manufacturers and consumers alike.
The new Standard Specification for Barrier
Face Coverings (ASTM F3502) establishes
baseline design, fit and performance criteria
for manufacturers and an easy, uniform method
for consumers to evaluate them. Essentially
creating the “barrier face covering” product
class, it also gave rise to some unintended
consequences: substandard and counterfeit face
coverings and companies willing to make them.
Consumers (individual, government and corporate)
need to be aware of, concerned with, and
equipped to identify and avoid these products,
ergo the guide.
Written by Richard Nicholas, a forty-year
veteran of the healthcare industry, and a member
of the ASTM committee that developed the
standard, it details how consumers can identify
substandard and counterfeit products: the
distinction being that substandard products
simply fail to meet the standard’s requirements,
while counterfeits are ones that are
falsely claimed to comply with it.
Intended for individuals, employers and
professional advisors (e.g., purchasing, HR,
workplace safety, loss control, risk management)
— as well as medical directors and health system
administrators —
How to Avoid Buying Your Family and Employees
Counterfeit and Substandard Reusable Face
Coverings addresses
everything from the standard’s requirements; to
interpreting mask classification labels; to
consumer warnings about those aspects of face
masks that pose potential health, safety and
environmental risks (a topic that has not been
fully developed in this first version of the
standard).
Nicholas surveyed manufacturers, distributors
and retailers that falsely represented their
face coverings as being “ASTM F3502-compliant”
or “certified” and found that noncompliance was
both accidental and deliberate. Most were
unaware of the standard’s requirements; many
mistakenly believed that their “outmoded” past
performance tests are sufficient to satisfy the
standard; some expressed little concern for
putting the public at risk.
Not surprisingly, Nicholas found manufacturers
that are knowingly making false claims about
their products’ being compliant or “certified”
solely to gain market advantage. Some
haven’t even gotten their masks fully tested to
the standard’s specifications. In part,
this is because the laboratories (e.g. Intertek,
SGS, Eurofins, ICS, Nelson) have only recently
become prepared and accredited to perform ASTM
F3502’s unique tests and assessments, and some
still remain confused as to its requirements.
According to Nicholas: “Substandard
and counterfeit face masks are dangerous because
they foster a false sense of security…for
wearers and those around them. Consumers
must be certain that the products they buy are
compliant with the new standard as their
well-being, and that of their family and
employees, is at stake.”
Among national standards, ours is unique in its
use of the rigorous NIOSH-based particle
filtration efficiency test which yields much
lower results (< 60% vs. > 95%) than the
traditional tests familiar to consumers. It
requires design, leakage, fit and
biocompatibility assessments and retesting
after the claimed maximum number of washings to
evaluate performance and fit with prolonged use.
Manufacturers must evidence meeting ALL the
standard’s requirements in a Conformity
Assessment Report to be compliant.
ASTM F3502 has been adopted by the FDA.
Other agencies (e.g., OSHA) with enforcement
capability will soon follow; the FTC, DOJ and
some state AGs have already begun counterfeit
and fair-trade investigations. A new World
Bank sponsored global campaign is underway to
raise awareness of community mask standards as
well an initiative to establish an online
voluntary “registry” for products claiming
compliance to evidence such.
Deception isn’t limited to consumers. Yahoo! featured
articles having a manufacturer’s claim that its
face masks “…got an ASTM certification”. TODAY and NBC
News published articles with a false
manufacturer claim that its products were among
the first to get “certified” and “proven to meet” the
new standard. To their credit, upon learning
from Nicholas that ASTM doesn’t “certify” face
coverings, Yahoo! promptly deleted its
articles and NBC News issued this correction:
“After consulting lab reports and experts, NBC
News confirmed that the masks did not meet a new
standard for reusable masks” and removed the
product from its best face mask listing.
How to Avoid Buying Your Family and Employees Counterfeit
and Substandard Reusable Face Coverings is
available at www.researchconsortium.org
Facemask Market and Technologies Webinar on
Tuesday
WFI is conducting a course next week on face
masks.
Bob McIlvaine will provide a brief
overview of the market. His slide presentation
is included below.
April 27th, 2020, Tuesday
8:00am-10:00am, ET Canada & US
$USD 350
$USD 175 (Member Only )
Course Objectives:
The objective of this course is to provide you
the latest update on facemask market analysis
and the technologies used to make facemasks,
especially meltblown and electrostatic charging
technologies, as a primary method used for
making core facemask filtration layers. We will
also discuss the latest developments on test
methods and certification standards for the
facemasks, as well as the trends for future
growth.
2. Updated Market Analysis (Bob McIlvaine, 20
min)
a. Risk Reduction Assessment
b. Near-term and Long-term Market Strategy
3. Meltblown Processes and Electrostatic
Charging Technologies (Peter Tsai, 50 min)
a. Review of meltblown technologies
b. Fundamentals in meltblowing process design
c. Process parameters and web properties
d. Meltblown advantages for filters and
facemasks
i. Unique meltblown characteristics in
filtration
ii. Meltblown polypropylene electret
e. Electrostatic charging techniques
f. Charge decay and durability
g. Recent developments
4. An outline of current medical face mask
performance requirements and testing (Janelle R.
Bentz, 25 min)
a. Medical Mask Test Method Standards
b. NOISH Test methods
c. Barrier Face Coverings
5. Trends for further growth (All speakers, 15
min)
a. Panel Discussion
b. Q&A
President @ Waterloo Filtration Institute
Dr. Tsai has over 40 years of expertise in
development of meltblowing (MB) system and the
electrostatic charging (EC) of materials for
making air filter electrets. The MB and the EC
technologies developed Dr. Tsai have been used
in the industries worldwide making billion
pieces of N95 of face masks, and many other
applications in air filtration. He receives
three most prestigious awards from the
University of Tennessee (UT) in recognition of
his contribution in technology innovation and
transfer. Dr. Tsai is entitled by AFS as a
Fellow Member, famous for his invention of
electret meltblown technologies for N95 facemask
and air filtration applications.
Janelle R. Bentz, MS, Nelson Laboratories
Janelle has been employed at Nelson Laboratories
for nearly 6 years and is the department
scientist in the Protective Barriers department
of the company. As an expert in many of the
surgical gown and drape and medical face mask
and respirator standards, she helps oversee the
testing in this section. As convener of ISO
TC94/SC13/WG6, she helps lead standard
development for testing medical protective
clothing. She is currently pursuing an MBA at
Brigham Young University in addition to
responsibilities at Nelson Laboratories.
McIlvaine Face Mask Market Presentation
Bob McIlvaine will discuss
the face mask market and these broad
conclusions.
India is in a Crisis and Needs Tight Fitting
Efficient Masks
India has not accurately reported COVID cases.
Experts believe that 400 million people have
been infected and that a billion people are at
high risk.
Even though India is a major vaccine producer
there is an inadequate vaccine supply. Due to
refrigeration requirements rural use will be
problematic. The one reliable option would be
tight fitting and efficient masks
In just two weeks, India’s second wave of
Covid-19 has become disastrous.
The country, which was reporting less than
15,000 cases a day just last month, has been
seeing over 200,000 Covid-19 infections a day
since April 15. On April 19, India reported
273,810 new Covid-19 infections and 1,619
deaths—both highest single-day spikes. That
takes the active Covid-19 caseload tally up to
nearly 2 million.
The current wave started in the western states
of Maharashtra and Gujarat and has now engulfed
almost the entire country.
Delhi, for instance, had only around 2,800 new
infections on April 1, and active infections
stood at 10,498. Yesterday, it recorded 25,462
infections and an active caseload of 74,941.
That amounts to a 900% increase in new
infections and a 700% increase in active cases
in just 18 days.
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