Excellent pragmatic advice. Thanks, Zack.
One caveat - an N95 with an exhalation valve defeats the purpose of the face covering which is to prevent droplets from contacting others.
Debbie M. Decker, CCHO, ACS Fellow
Past Chair, Division of Chemical Health and Safety
Councilor and Programming Co-Chair
University of California, Davis
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Birkett's hypothesis: "Any chemical reaction
that proceeds smoothly under normal conditions,
can proceed violently in the presence of an idiot."
From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
On Behalf Of Zack Mansdorf
Sent: Thursday, June 4, 2020 12:07 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] cloth face masks
This has become an incredible circular discussion that I believe will be never ending.
If you are doing lab work that requires a respirator, use the correct respirator. If you are doing lab work that does not require a respirator (e.g., in a hood), then use common sense. If a face covering is more of a risk than not wearing
a face covering (e.g., flammability, corrosivity, vision, etc.) than do not use a face covering and just maintain a 6 foot separation from other persons. If you cannot and the face covering will not work, use a face shield. Before my colleague and friend,
Monna, admonishes me--..if you have access to an N-95 or better, use that. It has become pretty clear that the vast majority of cases are from person to person contact and the likelihood of a younger person suffering severe consequences is very small. Consider
the overall risk of wearing a face covering versus not wearing a face covering given the lab work. I do not think there is a universal solution for all circumstances nor a universal material that can be used in all circumstances.
That's my non-CDC sanctioned opinion.
Zack
S.Z. Mansdorf, PhD, CIH, CSP, QEP
Consultant in EHS and Sustainability
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CDC is recommending the use of cloth face mask in academic institutions, but the question is what is the best fabric for them. Lab coats in academic labs are supposed to be chemical- and fire-resistant. Does this apply to face masks as
well? If so, is there a source for them?
Professor, Chemistry Department
Fellow, American Chemical Society
Fellow, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
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