Respiratory Masks - which one to choose?

Granite have recently included a range of Venitex Respiratory Masks on our site, these offer three levels of protection so we would like to ensure that customers understand what the levels mean and what each level protects from, so that you can select the correct one for your use.

The main Standard is EN 149:2001 and all our masks come with the CE mark to show they conform to this.

There are three levels of protection FFP1, FFP2, FFP3.

FFP1 Respirator

These protect the wearer against both solid and liquid aerosols. The level of protection given is against non-toxic contaminants in concentrations up to 4 X OEL (Occupational Exposure Limit) or 4 X APF (Assigned Protection Factor)

Ideal use is to protect operators working on hand sanding, cutting and drilling.

FFP2 Respirator

These protect the wearer against both solid and liquid aerosols. The level of protection is against low to average toxicity contaminants in concentrations up to 12 X OEL or 10 X APF

Ideal for protection against plaster, cement, sanding and wood dust.

FFP3 Respirator

These protect the wearer against higher levels of fine dust and oil/water based mists containing high toxicity contaminants. The level of protection is up to 50 OEL or 20 APF.

These are ideal for use with paints, pharmaceutical powders, biological agents and fibres.

Dolomite Test

The Dolomite test is an optional test under EN 149:2001, respirators which pass the dolomite clogging test are proved to provide more comfortable breathing while wearing respirators. This is obviously beneficial when wearing masks for protracted periods.

Granite has one mask in each of the FFP categories.

Valves

Masks can come with or without valves. Many people prefer valves as they let out the exhaled air thus reducing exhalation effort, stay cooler, are less likely to mist up eyewear and stay comfortable for longer.

Non-valve masks tend to be slightly cheaper and do prevent the wearer from contaminating their environment.

The majority of the masks in our range have valves but we do offer an FFP2 mask without a valve if that is required.