Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Department

Industrial and Managements Systems Engineering

Committee Chair

Xinjian He

Committee Co-Chair

Steven Guffey

Committee Member

Steven Guffey

Committee Member

Ziqing Zhuang

Abstract

Powered air purifying respirators (PAPRs) are commonly used in a health care setting, providing a higher level of protection than traditional surgical masks or N-95’s. However, little can be found in literature about their use in a sterile environment, such as an operating room. Thus, this study aims to compare bacterial contamination of three different models of PAPRs (3MTM VersafloTM TR-600-ECK, 3MTM Air-MateTM, and MAXAIR CAPR 710) to a N-95, surgical N-95 and surgical mask. The experiments were conducted in a small room with no ventilation, under two conditions, door open and door closed. Each experiment was replicated five times per condition, for a total of ten replications per respirator and surgical mask. Data was collected using a colony forming unit (CFU) count from agar plates placed in the testing room. Results showed that all respirators and the surgical mask resulted in a contamination compared to an empty room, but showed significantly less contamination compared to an unprotected subject. All respirators tested generated a lower mean CFU than the surgical mask, and all the PAPRs tested showed less CFU than the surgical N-95. The MAXAIR and Air-Mate were concluded to not differ in mean CFU compared to the N-95, while the Versaflo showed a significant difference in mean CFU. It can be said the Air-Mate and MAXAIR may have the same contamination potential as a N-95, while the Versaflo showed the highest CFU out of all the PAPRs and most likely is not suited for use in a sterile environment.

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