Performance of Respirator Cartridges and Dust Filters for Protecting Passive Smoking

Abstract

Workers who engage in cleaning smoking rooms or in restaurants where smoking is admitted are exposed to passive tobacco smoking. Because work environment control is difficult in such workplaces, personal protective equipments, that is, dust and gas respirators may be available for preventing exposure to tobacco smoke. However, there is no data available to assess whether dust filters or cartridges of respirators are effective for environmental tobacco smoke or not. In this study, collection characteristics of tobacco smoke by filters and cartridges for air purifying respirators and newly developed amphipathic adsorbents were investigated. Greater than 98% of particulate matters in tobacco smoke could be removed by filters with RL2 and DS2, or higher protection. Cartridges for organic vapors could collect organic gases and vapors considerably. An amphipathic adsorbent consists of 70% of activated carbon and 30% of sepiolite and a cartridge for formaldehyde could collect aldehydes and acetone almost perfectly. Particulate removing filters with activated carbon fibers (ACF) could not remove volatile organic compounds with low boiling point but it could remove greater than 98% of benzo[a]pyrene and nicotine. However, odor could not be removed by such particulate removing filters, and only 50% or less of odor was removed by the cartridges for organic vapors. Gases and vapors could not be removed by the particulate removing filters, ACF could remove a part of gases and vapors.