KVANTITATIVNA PROCJENA PERIFERNOG PROPUŠTANJA MASKI ZA LICE

Peripheral air leakage affects the ability of a facemask to protect a wearer from exposure to airborne contaminants. Leakage occurs when air bypasses a mask’s filter material and enters or exits the mask through gaps between the mask and the face. A wearer creates a negative pressure inside the mask during inhalation and a positive pressure during exhalation. These pressure differentials draw air in, or push air out of the mask reducing the effectiveness of a facemask. An air-pressure measurement chamber was developed to simplify mask air leakage assessments. Changes in air pressure and airflow were recorded using a differential manometer and a digital thermoanemometer. Differences between mask airflow and airflow through an open configuration (control) determined the airflow deficit driving peripheral leak-age. Four facemask types were tested including a surgical mask, a covid mask, a cotton mask and a N95 mask. The data showed leakage similarities among the four mask types tested. The surgical mask exhibited 50% leakage. The covid mask exhibited 67% leakage while the cotton mask exhibited 63%. The N95 mask exhibited a leakage of 72%. The results of this study con-firm previous studies that show high levels of peripheral leakage associated with most face-masks currently in use. The assessment method described in this study provides a new and simplified method to determine such leakages.