NIOSH-Approved Particulate Filtering Facepiece Respirators
There are seven classes of filters for NIOSH-approved filtering facepiece respirators available currently. Ninety-five percent is the minimal level of filtration that will be approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The N, R, and P designations refer to the filter’s oil resistance as described below:
N95 – Filters at least 95% of airborne particles. Not resistant to oil.
Surgical N95 – A NIOSH-approved N95 respirator that has also been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a surgical mask.
N99 – Filters at least 99% of airborne particles. Not resistant to oil.
N100 – Filters at least 99.97% of airborne particles. Not resistant to oil.
R95 – Filters at least 95% of airborne particles. Somewhat resistant to oil.
P95 – Filters at least 95% of airborne particles. Strongly resistant to oil.
P99 – Filters at least 99% of airborne particles. Strongly resistant to oil.
P100 – Filters at least 99.97% of airborne particles. Strongly resistant to oil.
Filtering Facepiece Respirator (FFR) Labels
Individual filtering facepiece respirators are required to have the following markings:
- Name of approval holder/manufacturer business name, a registered trademark, or an easily understood abbreviation of the applicant/approval holder’s business name as recognized by NIOSH. When applicable, the name of the entity to which the FFR has been private labeled by the approval holder may replace the approval holder business name, registered trademark, or abbreviation of the approval holder business name as recognized by NIOSH.
- NIOSH in block letters or the NIOSH logo.
- NIOSH Testing and Certification approval number, e.g., TC-84A-XXXX.
- NIOSH filter series and filter efficiency level, e.g., N95, N99, N100, R95, P95, P99, P100.
- Model number or part number: The approval holder’s respirator model number or part number, represented by a series of numbers or alphanumeric markings, e.g., 8577 or 8577A.
- NIOSH recommends the lot number and/or date of manufacture also be included, however, this is not required.
Filtering facepiece respirators that are private labeled are required to have the following statement on the packaging as a special S caution and limitation statement identified on the full label and located in the respirator user instructions:
- Marketed by xxxxxx (the private label company name).
- Produced by xxxxxx (the approval holder company name).
This private label related statement does not need to appear on the exterior surface of the respirator as part of the required name marking.