Quantifying the Health Benefits of Face Masks and Respirators to Mitigate Exposure to Severe Air Pollution.

ABSTRACT: Familiarity with the use of face coverings to reduce the risk of respiratory disease has increased during the coronavirus pandemic; however, recommendations for their use outside of the pandemic remains limited. Here, we develop a modeling framework to quantify the potential health benefits of wearing a face covering or respirator to mitigate exposure to particulate air pollution. This framework accounts for the wide range of available face coverings and respirators, fit factors and efficacy, air pollution characteristics, and exposure-response data. Our modeling shows that N95 respirators offer robust protection against different sources of particulate matter, reducing exposure by more than a factor of 14 when worn with a leak rate of 5%. Synthetic-fiber masks offer less protection with a

SUBMITTER: Kodros JK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8438762 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature