Quartz dust, sodium chloride aerosol and oil mist as test aerosols for dust respirators

A comparative study of challenge aerosols was conducted to review a performance test for dust respirators. The national approval test for dust respirator certification in Japan requires that air containing quartz particles of smaller than 2 mu m in diameter he used as the test aerosol. In view of the international harmonization of respirator certification standards, it is necessary to use alternative test aerosols for the approval test for dust respirators. This study was undertaken to measure the collection efficiency of filters by using three kinds of test aerosols, i.e., quartz dust, sodium chloride and dioctyl sebacate mist aerosols. Good correlation among the measured collection efficiencies of 16 test samples was found for the three test aerosols, but penetration with sodium chloride and dioctyl sebacate mist aerosols was more than 10 times that of quartz dust aerosol.