The method used in evaluating the respiratory protection provided by representative types of contagion masks against an aerosol of Bacillus subtilis var. niger spores has been described. It can be concluded that the contagion masks evaluated offer poor respiratory protection against airborne microorganisms in the particle size range of 1.0 to 5.0 ,u in diameter. Commercially available dust respirators and related masks are approximately 2.5 to 5 times more efficient than contagion masks. An even higher degree of protection can be obtained by the use of full-face masks.
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