BlondeBomber

Wonder when AC will institute something similar:

LH Bans Cloth Masks Feb 1: N95 or surgical mandatory; N95 on Austrian

Bartolo

Curiously, on a recent flight, during boarding I heard the SD inform a passenger his N95 mask was not acceptable and they would give him a replacement. Seemed very odd.

canadiancow

A lot of N95 masks have a vent, as they're designed for working in construction, etc., where the only purpose is to prevent you from breathing unwanted particles.

For COVID, the main purpose is to prevent particles from escaping, so the vent completely defeats the purpose.

N95 masks are fine, but they can't have a vent.

yyznomad

If so, I fully expect my AC-branded pack of N95 masks with my mailed copy of EnRoute.

yyztozag

They're telling people in Toronto to wear non-medical masks (not that I care - you can get excellent Level 1/2/3 surgical masks on Amazon, made in Canada, $30 for 50 pieces, next day Prime delivery). I only found real N95 masks on one dental equipment site for around $15 a piece. I doubt that AC would require medical masks as that's ignoring counterproductive public health advice.


https://www.3zdental.ca/products/n95...d1a239d5&_ss=r

Stay safe...

samcmontreal

The only thing we know is that we don't know.

Bartolo

Had no idea. Thanks for info. Of course, a year ago how many of us knew what an N95 was?

yyznomad

Probably those who were traveling during SARS... 17-18 years ago!

canadiancow

Or those of us who have lived in forest fire regions (which is when I got my vented N95).

Bohemian1

Me too. Which I got after a trip to see my friends in Cupertino who were all wearing them during some nasty fires.

expert7700

Although these are well over AC's cleancare amenity pack budget, they are available at prices far less than what people are paying stores for fabric masks.

Uline.ca N95 masks 20pk $52 CAD
NIOSH# traces back to 20yr Taiwan firm with plants in China. Whitelabel mfr for several brands including Safetyworks for $24US/20pk.

NIOSH N95 in stock, ships and sold by Amazon.com (though not listed on amazon.ca)

Staples.ca N95 NIOSH 20pk $69CAD made in Taiwan

SearsTower

N95 is a topic I have some expertise on. I am a Certified Industrial Hygienist and have worked with respiratory protection for more than 2 decades. I used to be the manager of safety for the Calgary Health Region (CHR). I was on a bio-terrorism task force with Health Canada following my work in preparing the CHR for the G8 summit. When SARS hit Toronto, I was contacted by Health Canada about how to protect staff. At that time, they new VERY little about N95's in Canadian healthcare because they just didn't use them; whereas in the US, they had been used for many years.

Cow's comments about N95s and valves are exactly right.

To be sure that an N95 functions properly, it needs to be fit tested to ensure it properly seals with the users face. Just because someone wears an N95 or KN95, does not mean it is working. They can also be dangerous with some people who may have pre-existing health condition since it restricts their breathing much more than a face mask/covering. In industry, we must conduct a medical assessment/questionnaire to ensure it is safe for the person to wear the N95.

Before COVID, it was easy to get a a qualityN95 in Canada for a couple of dollars. Since COVID, the price has drastically increased for quality N95s and the availability has drastically decreased. I have had some on order for well over 3 months. We cannot just get any N95 since we must fit test on each model. And not all N95/KN95s are created equally. They tend to fit very differently. Clearly from the examples provided by expert7700, their shapes are very different and the straps are in different locations. There are also issues with potential allergic reactions to components of the respirators, in particular, the metal piece at the nose which is commonly a nickel alloy.

expert7700

Great hearing all this detail and of your relevant background. An in person AC fit-testing DO is requested... eventually

I agree 100% on the fit/style differences. With 3 in our household we each had a different brand/model work best on our rudimentary fit test for smell passing through, fogged up glasses, etc. Most of what we ordered got donated down the line due to fit issues.

Still, for the traveling public, wouldn't a fair fitting N95 still give much more protection than a loose-fit 10 cent surgical "style" (non medically certified) with open sides, or a fabric mask? That seems to be what Germany and Austria are saying with their new measures.
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Adam Smith

No, it's no better. (Which comes from my wife, the nurse who's responsible for these things in the emergency department where she works)

It's medical theatre.

SearsTower

I would prefer to say its probably no better, but of course I won't argue with your wife since I know her! When you exhale, you are exhaling large droplets and it either gets gets easily trapped or goes out through the leaks. Doesn't matter if it is a face mask or N95, a leak is a leak. A face mask protects others, while a properly fitting N95 filters out 95% of the particles that are 0.3 microns in size. 0.3 microns is the hardest size of particle to capture, Viruses are typically smaller and easier to capture by means of diffusion and electrostatic attraction. So the actual capture efficiency is much greater than 95% - if properly fitted and worn.

And as for fit testing, I would be happy to have a fit testing DO in YYC. FYI, there are 2 main types of fit testing. Qualitative fit testing is when an agent is blown in the area of the respirator while you are going through some exercises. Common agents are isoamyl acetate (banana oil), saccharin solution, Bitrex and irritant smoke (stannic chloride). My favorite is Bitrex because it tastes disgusting and it is difficult to cheat. The other method is quantitative fit testing. This is what we do at work and my opinion the superior method of fit testing. It requires a $10K+ machine (we use a TSI PortaCount models 8038 & 8048) to measure how much leakage there is in the seal by comparing particle counts inside the facepiece with the number in the room.