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1334401 
Technical Report 
Correlation of Results of Qualitative Respirator Facepiece Fitting Tests Using Isoamyl Acetate Vapor as Test Agent with Results of Quantitative Respirator Facepiece Fitting Tests Using Polydisperse Diethylhexyl Phthalate Aerosol as Test Agent 
Revior, WH; Bantug, EL; Williams, AS 
1980 
NIOSH/00123920 
September 9 
9-11 
The results of a qualitative respirator facepiece fitting test were compared with the results of a quantitative fitting test. The qualitative fitting test utilized isoamyl-acetate (123922) (IAA) as the test agent, while the quantitative fitting test utilized a polydisperse di(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate (117817) (DEHP) aerosol. Human subjects wearing nonpowered air purifying respirators equipped with half mask facepieces were exposed to the two test agents successively in separate test chambers. The results of both the quantitative tests and the qualitative tests carried out with a series of five exercises frequently varied significantly from results obtained when only the normal breathing exercise was considered. The risk of falsely accepting a specific make and model respirator for assignment to a particular individual was much greater when the qualitative test used only the normal breathing exercise than when the five exercises were used. A facepiece fitting factor of 10 was shown to be safe for the application of air purifying type negative pressure respirators equipped with half mask facepieces when specific makes and models of these respirators were selected for assignment to individuals on the basis of satisfactory results from qualitative tests using IAA vapor as the test agent. The authors conclude that the IAA vapor qualitative fitting test is safe to use to select specific makes and models of air purifying type negative pressure respirators with half masks for assignment to particular workers provided that a facepiece fitting factor not exceeding 10 is applied. 
DCN-181693; NIOSH Author; Analytical methods; Respiratory protective equipment; Safety equipment; Safety engineering; Respiratory protection