Su Wei-Chung, Lee Jinho, Xi Jinxiang, Zhang Kai
Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Francis College of Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, Massachusetts, USA.
Aerosol Air Qual Res. 2022 Jan;22(1). doi: 10.4209/aaqr.210228. Epub 2021 Dec 1.
Ultrafine particle (i.e., smaller than 100 nm) in the ambient air is a significant public health issue. The inhalation and deposition of ultrafine particles in the human airways can lead to various adverse health effects. Loose-fitting types of masks are commonly used by the general public in some developing countries for protecting against ultrafine particles in the ambient environment. This research conducted a series of laboratory chamber experiments using two sets of particle sizers and two mannequin heads to study the mask efficiency of selected loose-fitting masks. Results acquired demonstrated that the cloth mask showed a low mask efficiency against ultrafine particles with the mask efficiency generally less than 0.4. The KN95 presented a better mask efficiency among all tested masks with the mask efficiency overall larger than 0.5. In addition, the effect of mask-wearing on the change of ultrafine particle airway deposition efficiency was also investigated in this study. The ultrafine particle deposition efficiency in the airway section studied was found to decrease due to mask-wearing, and the decreases of the deposition efficiencies were similar among all loose-fitting masks tested.
环境空气中的超细颗粒物（即直径小于100纳米）是一个重大的公共卫生问题。超细颗粒物在人体气道中的吸入和沉积会导致各种不良健康影响。在一些发展中国家，普通民众通常使用宽松型口罩来抵御环境中的超细颗粒物。本研究使用两套颗粒大小分析仪和两个人体模型头部进行了一系列实验室舱室实验，以研究所选宽松型口罩的防护效率。获得的结果表明，布口罩对超细颗粒物的防护效率较低，通常低于0.4。在所有测试口罩中，KN95口罩表现出较好的防护效率，总体防护效率大于0.5。此外，本研究还调查了佩戴口罩对超细颗粒物气道沉积效率变化的影响。研究发现，由于佩戴口罩，所研究气道段的超细颗粒物沉积效率降低，并且在所有测试的宽松型口罩中，沉积效率的降低情况相似。
