The Advantages and Importance of Elastomeric Respirators
These reusable and cost-effective masks have been used by workers for years.
- By Claudio Dente
- May 01, 2023
What are Elastomeric Respirators?
Elastomeric respirators are tight-fitting respirators that provide greater-than-N95-level protection and are made to be safely reused for years. You may be hearing more and more lately about elastomeric masks online and in the media. These types of reusable rubber half masks are nothing new and have been a staple piece of PPE for many workers across various industries for decades. These types of reusable respirators are reliable, comfortable, cost-effective and safer than any disposable mask on the market. Here’s a breakdown of everything you need to know about elastomeric respirators.
Elastomeric respirators are made by dozens of manufacturers and typically use N95, N99, N100 or P100 level filters. These are the most common reusable respirators found in homes and workplaces due to the added protection and their cost-effectiveness compared to disposable N95s.
They are commonly found in mining, auto repair, construction, agricultural, pharmaceutical and home renovation industries. Rubber half masks like these can be bought online and in your local hardware stores. Several provinces have massive stockpiles that were bought for healthcare workers that have been locked up for future pandemics since the first wave.
Some elastomeric respirators are made for industrial use while others are made for healthcare workers, teachers and others that need the best protection possible from deadly viruses, wildfire smoke, environmental allergens and more.
Facts About Elastomeric Respirators
Hospitals have been successfully using reusable elastomeric respirators as superior alternatives to disposable Filtering Facepiece Respirator (FFR) N95s for infection control since 1996.
Cities like Winnipeg, MB Canada have been using elastomeric respirators to protect firefighters, police and paramedics from COVID-19 since March 2020. New York stopped buying FFR N95s for firefighters and EMS in November 2020 and upgraded to elastomeric respirators instead.
A study by the American College of Surgeons published in June 2020 shows that elastomeric respirators were so well-liked by the thousands of Health Care Workers (HCWs) that used them that after the trial was finished, not one out of the 2,000 HCWs wanted to stop using them and go back to using disposable N95s.
This article originally appeared in the April/May 2023 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.