Today's masks are very important items for daily, but the protection levels of masks are different, and the technical standards of different countries are different. How do we choose the right mask? We would like to share the technical standards of American masks as below:

Technical Standard

The American NIOSH standard classifies the filter material and filter efficiency of the mask. This standard is highly recognized in the world.

(1) According to the filter material of the middle layer of the mask, it is divided into three types: N, R, P series

N - Not oil resistant

R - Resistant to oil

P - Oil Proof

KN:Suitable for filtering non-oil particles,such as coal dust, cement dust, acid fog, paint fog.

KP:Suitable for filtering oily and non-oily particles, Such as soot, asphalt smoke, coke oven smoke, diesel exhaust particles.

(2) According to the filtration efficiency, it is divided into three types: low protection(Level1),medium protection(Level2),high protection(level3).

Respirator Rating Number Class

95 - Removes 95% of all particles that are at least 0.3 microns in diameter

99 - Removes 99% of particles that are at least 0.3 microns in diameter

100 - Removes 99.97% of all particles that are 0.3 microns in diameter or larger. HE or HEPA quality filter.

Classification according to filtration efficiency:

ASTMF2100 standard is a medical standard, This standard divides masks into three levels:

1. Low protection (Level 1) can block 95% of bacterial particles, enough to protect the general community users.

2. Medium protection (Level 2) blocks at least 98% of bacteria and particles, enough to protect the general community users.

3. Blocking at least 98% of bacteria and particles with High Protection (Level 3) (the main difference between medium and high protection standards is that high protection standards have higher requirements for the ability to block liquids). Masks can be used in the operating room.

The higher the level, the better the protection performance. When the chance of exposure to viruses is particularly large, you should choose a higher level of protection.