An Application of Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR) full-face mask to plutonium handling facilities

Shioya, Satoshi; Nakagawa, Takahiro ; Yamazaki, Takumi ; Tachihara, Joji; Shuji, Yoshiyuki ; Kikuno, Hiroshi

In order to reduce the workload and improve the safety (i.e., prevention of internal exposure) of workers at Plutonium handling facilities, etc., JAEA has introduced a new Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR) full-face mask as respiratory protective equipment. In introducing this mask, we conducted a leakage test in correspondence with Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS). In the leakage test, an examinee person wearing the mask entered an airlock and performed a prescribed action (e.g., stepping up and down on a stepladder, etc.) while the number concentration of NaCl test particles in/out of the mask was measured. Leakage rates were calculated for the results of 10 examinees. The test results showed that the leakage rate of this mask was 0.01% (corresponding to the protection factor of 10000) even when the electric fan was stopped, confirming that the mask remained high protection capability.