OSHA 29 CFR 1910-134

TOTOBOBO mask in NIOSH site

by info on September 12, 2008

Totobobo mask was spotted in NIOSH NO-FIT-TEST workshop page    Totobobo mask was spotted in NIOSH NO-FIT-TEST workshop page

I was surpriced when my friend show me this page in CDC site. NIOSH, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health under CDC, is the US organization who certify the well known N95 mask. What made TOTOBOBO, a little known Singapore invention of respirator mask, appears in this heavy weight website?

No, TOTOBOBO is not certified by NIOSH, at least not yet. The picture of an early version of TOTOBOBO mask found in the NIOSH website is to serve as an inspirational example for a “No Fit Test” filtering facepiece respirator workshop. The workshop will be conducted in Nov. 6 later this year and the objective is:

“To better understand the interdisciplinary research needs and challenges in developing and certifying a universal “no-fit-test” filtering-facepiece respirator”

I think this is totally appropriate and it shows NIOSH recgonize the need to improve the current procedure in order to motivate manufacturers to innovate toward the direction of “No fit test” respirator. 

Why is this big fuss about “No fit Test”?

If you read carefully the fine text of your respirator instruction, you will notice a statement similar to this:

“Before use of this respirator, a written respiratory protection program must be implemented meeting all the requirements of OSHA 29 CFR 1910,134 such as training, fit testing, medical evaluation, and applicable OSHA substance specific standards.” 

The simple fact is, the rated protection value will be drastically reduced if the mask does not fit your face, and there is no other ways to tell except by doing a fit-test. Buying a mask is easy, but getting a mask fit-tested on each individual is a challenge. In emergency situation like flu pandemic or haze outbreak, it is simply not possible to get everyone a fit tested at once. 

One can start to sense the “pain of fit test” and how touchy this issue is from the following comment in one of the NIOSH science blog :

—————————————————–

NIOSH debate how often to fit test

NIOSH debate how often to fit tes

Hopeful to see Fit-Test to be lifted- Edward Hernandez, City of Hialeah, Fire Rescue says:- Thank you for proposing a study as this. For a while now this OSHA (Fit-test) requirement  has been a burden to our Fire/EMS service.

Hopeful to see Fit Test to be simplified-Peggie Reinhardt, RN BSN, says:

I would be interested in this study, we currently fit test our employees annually. If this process could be shortened or redesigned so that it was easier to do would help tremendously.

Fighting to keep Fit-Test in organization- Sgt. Julie Love says:

I would be interested in being part of this study on the law enforcement side. We fit test our officers annually but many departments do not. Law Enforcment traditionally has fallen down in this area as many agencies just give their officers their masks without any fit testing. We also fight the battle with our management with what is mandated.

Worry that No-Fit-Test= Not Safe-Kevin MacDonald says:

 I am concerned that changing the fit test frequency while cost effective may defeat its overall purpose. when fit testing went from every 6 months to one year as a requirement of OSHA it was a step back.

Confused and concern-Kelly Russell says:

I am glad this study is being done. Respiratory fit testing is expensive for employers and it will be good to have a current answer when asked why we have to do the testing so often….or maybe not so often as the case may be.

——————————————————-

No matter what, the setting up of this workshop itself is already a breakthrough, and we are definitively happy to be associate with the solution side of the problem. We hope the result of the workshop will bring more practical innovation into the design and certification of respirator, especially taking people like housewife and children who don’t have access to fit-test equipment but also deserved to have good protection when situation come.

Click on pen to Use a Highlighter on this page

Tagged as: , , , , , , ,

{ 0 comments }

Time for a better mask to protect children

by info on March 17, 2008

“Totobobo is far superior to any other mask on the market. Period!””

7 years old Kayla wearing Totobobo mask, fighting Leukemia with the support from her mother, Debbie

7 years old Kayla wearing Totobobo mask

“After the Chemo Kayla is still immune compromised. This mask is our safety net that has proven its workability.
When Kayla did not have the mask and went to school she ended up in the hospital for two weeks, every month, for three months, totaling 45 days. With the mask -no sickness, no hospitalizations, no colds, nothing.
Your mask is far superior to any other mask on the market. Period! ”

- Debbie Witte, Kayla’s mum @ www.freehelpforcancer.com

Debbie known that her daughter Kayla needed proper respiratory protection if she wanted to play with other children. Kayla tried all sorts of masks: surgical masks, N95 masks but none of these work. Due to her compromised immune system after the Chemo-therapy, Keyla fall sick easily time after she play with other kids. Undefeated, Debbie continued to search. One day, a Google search led her to the Totobobo mask. After studied the website, she decided to give it a go. Much to her delight, the Totobobo masks works!

Filter + Face seal = good protection
The principle of how Totobobo mask work is simple: Isolation (good seal) and filtering.

principle of respiratory mask protection

Good protection = good seal + good filter

“Good protection is built on two factors: a good filter and a good seal“.

Surgical mask is not good enough

You may have seen news on TV that many school kids in Asia wearing surgical masks during the SARS. But the fact is surgical mask was not designed to prevent air-borne contamination. There are gaps from both sides that virus can bypass the mask easily.

sugical mask showing gaps from both sides

Surgical mask is designed to protect nurses or surgeons from contaminated blood splash during an operation. In Japan it is commonly used to reduce the risk of spreading the flu virus from the wearers when they are sick. The protection value of surgical mask from air borne virus is a big question mark.

N95 mask effectiveness: fit-testing is a problem

Adult N95 mask big gaps on child's face

Respirator (e.g. N95 mask), on the other hand, is designed to protect the wearer from air borne virus. This is only possible if the respirator is making a good seal on your face such that air have to go through the filter before entering the breathing zone. However a proper fit-test can only be conducted by a trained specialist with special equipment, which is simply too complicated for the public.

Manufacturer come up with “user seal check” which typically involve blocking the filter and blow into the mask while wearing it. To feel that if there is any air leak from gaps around the mask. But such practice is questioned by a study from the Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong. The study suggested there is 25% of failure rate when trained users apply the standard “User seal check”. The standard user seal check recommended by most manufacturers is just too ambiguous and unreliable. “It’s usefulness as a pre-use test must be questioned”, the report concluded.

Another study “Respiratory Donning in Post-Hurricane New Orleans” (US CDC, May 2007) found 76% participants were not able to demonstrate proper donning for a good seal and their protection has been compromised.

TOTOBOBO mask improve user seal check by 25%

Main features of TOTOBOBO mask

Main features of TOTOBOBO mask

When looking for a respirator to protect his kids, Francis Chu, the inventor of TOTOBOBO mask, encountered the same frustration as Debbie. He became aware of the many difficulties faced by parents and determined to come up with a better solution. He applied his expertise in product design and experimented with hundreds of prototypes. Finally he came up with an ergonomic design that fits most people and can be customized to fit children.
He understand that beyond a good seal and good filter, other issues like comfort, cleaning, reuse, portability are all important factors need to be addressed before the mask can be considered as “Child Friendly”.

Following is a summary of the issues and respective solutions embedded in Totobobo:

PROBLEMS………………………………….. SOLUTIONS

Children’s face size varies …….…….. Trim it to fit small faces

Hard to determine a good seal …… VSC Visual Seal Check makes it easy

Difficult to disinfect (for reuse) …… Anti-virus mask easy to clean and safer to reuse

Children’s skin is delicate………… FDA approved, non allergic soft material
……
Not easy to carry………………..…………. light weight, folded flat

Parents and school teachers from different parts of the world have discovered the new solution for their children. If you are looking for an effective mask to protect your child, TOTOBOBO is exactly what your are looking for!

“It is the only mask out there that fits my boy and give him adequate protection.”
- Bob Williams, Knoxville , USA

—————————————————–

Read more about TOTOBOBO mask for children :

The best fitting mask for children

Say no to pollution in school buses

Time for a better mask for children

Protect children from incense smoke

Transparent mask make easy seal check

How to’s

How to customize TOTOBOBO mask for your children?

How to wash TOTOBOBO mask for reuse?

How to check the mask-to-face-seal without fit-test equipment?

Click on pen to Use a Highlighter on this page

Tagged as: , , , , , , , , , , ,

{ 12 comments }