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IJERPH
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Recent Advances in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Exposure Control
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Recent Advances in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Exposure Control

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Health Care Sciences & Services".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2022) | Viewed by 2872

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Claudiu T. Lungu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health and Mechanical Engineering, The University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
Interests: environmental health; occupational health; occupational and environmental exposure; activated carbon fibers; respiratory protection
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The COVID-19 epidemics continues to have a very high impact on peoples’ lives around the world. To slow the spread of the virus, well-established methods of control have been employed, among them, personal protective equipment (PPE) is taking center stage, even if, theoretically, it represents the last resort of control. In the last few months, many innovative methods and materials have been proposed for use, such as respiratory masks, face shields, eye protection, gloves, and protective garment. Additionally, disinfection methods have been tested and implemented in order to prolong the life and performance of the PPE. The newly developed PPE as well as methods to control the spread of the virus will likely transition from medical-only use to general occupational use, adding value in the field of occupational safety and health. This Special Issue of IJERPH will focus on PPE, including the development of new PPE, new materials used in PPE, methods of disinfection, and reuse of PPE as well as improving the performance of the current PPE. Original articles, reviews, and short communications are requested for publication.

Prof. Dr. Claudiu T. Lungu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • personal protective equipment (PPE)
  • respiratory protection devices
  • protective eyewear
  • masks
  • protective garments
  • face shields
  • protective gloves

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 4050 KiB  
Article
Adsorption Characteristics of Activated Carbon Fibers in Respirator Cartridges for Toluene
by Jo Anne G. Balanay and Jonghwa Oh
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(16), 8505; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph18168505 - 12 Aug 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1943
Abstract
Respirator use has been shown to be associated with overall discomfort. Activated carbon fiber (ACF) has potential as an alternative adsorbent for developing thinner, lightweight, and efficient respirators due to its larger surface area, microporosity, and fabric form. The purpose of this pilot [...] Read more.
Respirator use has been shown to be associated with overall discomfort. Activated carbon fiber (ACF) has potential as an alternative adsorbent for developing thinner, lightweight, and efficient respirators due to its larger surface area, microporosity, and fabric form. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the adsorption characteristics of commercially available ACF in respirator cartridges with varying ACF composition for toluene protection. Seven ACF types (one cloth, six felt) with varying properties were tested. Seven ACF cartridge configurations with varying ACF composition were challenged with five toluene concentrations (20–500 ppm) at constant air temperature (23 °C), relative humidity (50%), and air flow (32 LPM). Breakthrough curves were obtained using photoionization detectors. Breakthrough times (10%, 50%, and 5 ppm) and adsorption capacities were compared among ACF cartridge configurations to determine their suitable application in respiratory protection. Results showed that ACF cartridges containing the densest ACF felt types had the longest average breakthrough times (e.g., ~250–270 min to reach 5 ppm breakthrough time) and those containing ACF felt types with the highest specific surface areas had the highest average adsorption capacity (~450–470 mg/g). The ACF cartridges demonstrated breakthrough times of <1 h for 500 ppm toluene and 8–16 h for 20 ppm toluene. The ACF cartridges are more reliable for use at low ambient toluene concentrations but still have potential for use at higher concentrations for short-term protection. ACF felt forms with appropriate properties (density of ~0.07 g/cm3; specific surface area of ~2000 m2/g) have shown promising potential for the development of lighter and thinner respirators for protection against toluene. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Exposure Control)
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