Table J—NIOSH's 1987 Recommended Assigned Protection Factors for Protection
| Assigned Protection Factor |
Type of respirator[1] |
| 5 | Example |
| 10 | Example |
| 25 | Example |
| 50 | Example |
| 1,000 | Example |
| 2,000 | Example |
| 10,000 | Example |
- ↑ Only high efficiency filters are permitted for protection against particulates having exposure limits less than 0.05 mg/m³.
Single-use (see definition in Glossary) or quarter mask² respirator -Any air-purifying half-mask respirator including disposable (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 supplied-air respirator equipped with a half-mask and operated in a demand (negative pressure) mode2 -Any powered air-purifying respirator equipped with a hood or helmet and any type of particu- late filter -Any supplied-air respirator equipped with a hood or helmet and operated in a continuous flow mode -Any air-purifying full facepiece respirator equipped with a high efficiency filter -Any powered air-purifying respirator equipped with a tight-fitting facepiece and a high effi ciency filter -Any supplied-air respirator equipped with a full facepiece and operated in a demand (nega- tive pressure) mode² -Any supplied-air respirator equipped with a tight-fitting facepiece and operated in a continu- ous flow mode -Any self-contained respirator equipped with a full facepiece and operated in a demand (neg- ative pressure) mode² Any supplied-air respirator equipped with a half-mask and operated in a pressure demand or other positive pressure mode² Any supplied-air respirator equipped with a full facepiece and operated in a pressure demand or other positive pressure mode² -Any self-contained respirator equipped with a full facepiece and operated in a pressure de- mand or other positive pressure mode² -Any supplied-air respirator equipped with a full facepiece operated in a pressure demand or other positive pressure mode in combination with an auxiliary self-contained breathing appara- tus operated in a pressure demand or other positive pressure mode² "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.
