Table F—NIOSH's 1987 Recommended Assigned Protection Factors for Particulate-Filter Respirators.
| Assigned Protection Factor |
Type of respirator[1] |
| Example | Example |
| Example | Example |
| Example | Example |
| Example | Example |
- ↑ Only high efficiency filters are permitted for protection against particulates having exposure limits less than 0.05 mg/m³.
5 Single-use (see definition in Glossary) or quarter mask? respirator 10 25 -Any air-purifying half-mask respirator including disposable³ (see definition in Glossary) equipped with any type of particulate filter except single use 24 -Any air-purifying full facepiece respirator equipped with any type of particulate filter -Any powered air-purifying respirator equipped with a hood or helmet and any type of particu- late filter" -Any air-purifying full facepiece respirator equipped with a high efficiency filter? 50 -Any powered air-purifying respirator equipped with a tight-fitting facepiece and a high effi- ciency filter* The assigned protection factors (APF's) were determined by Los Alamos National Laboratories (LANL) by conducting quantitative fit testing on a panel of human volunteers. An APF of 10 can be assigned to disposable particulate respirators if they have been properly fitted using a quantitative fit test. Otherwise a 5 shall be assigned. The APF's were based on workplace protection factor (WPF) data or laboratory data more recently reported than the LANL data. "The APF was based on consideration of efficiency of dust, fume, and/or mist filters.
