3- Approved Standards of respiratory masks
The two international approved standards of respiratory masks are the American NIOSH standard and the European EN149:2001 standard. According to international standards, Table 1 lists two important characteristics of respiratory masks, filtration efficiency or particle trapping and pressure drop (breathability).
- N is short form of NIOSH, and its number indicates the level of protection.
- FFP is short form of filtering face piece and its number indicates the level of protection.
According to American and European standards, FFP2 is equivalent to N95, and FFP3 is equivalent to N99, and only the type of standard is different. As a result, the use of any of these masks during epidemics and pandemics are necessary. By using N99 or FFP3 masks, you can have a better filtration and protection, but they are usually having low breathability.