Past, Present, and Future Use of Fit Tests in Canadian Respirator Certification

Brian H. Harrison

Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

e-mail: brianh@sorbecon.com

The presentation will look at the use of tests to measure total inward leakage (protection factor testing or fit testing) in Canada to accept respirators.  It will start with the development of the tests that were used in the late 1980s to accept the Canadian military C4 respirator.  This will include a look at the equipment that was available at the time, its limitations, and the standardization of the tests with other militaries.  It will then turn to the present and future by looking at research that has been done under a Canadian CBRN Research and Technology Initiative, over the past three years, to develop guidance and standards for protecting Canadian First Responders against a CBRN event.  The presentation will include lessons learned over the past three years and how these are being translated into guidance for First responders on selecting a respirator, and inputs for new standards.