The Importance of Achieving a Seal – Face Fit Testing

With the dangers of occupational lung disease being a big topic when it comes to health and safety, 3B Training demonstrated why is it’s important to achieve a complete seal on your respirator mask.

We did this by physically showing why it is important that you are completely clean-shaven for your respirator mask to seal properly on your face by conducting a face fit test on 3 different facial hair types (one being clean-shaven).

This was presented in a video series that was created for our Youtube channel: The Importance of Achieving a Seal. 

Please note: the videos were made purely for demonstration purposes only and a test should be only carried out when no facial hair is present.

The first video showed a test conducted on Patryk who has a full beard. This was done to emphasise how quickly the mask can leak when you have a beard and no seal.

Patryk’s facial hair created space between the mask and his face, therefore, a seal cannot be achieved.

The second test was conducted on Simon who has a light stubble. The test will emphasise how no matter what level of facial hair you have, a seal cannot be achieved. The light stubble again created space between Simon’s face and the mask, a seal cannot be achieved.

The third and final test was conducted on Simon who this time was completely clean-shaven. The test will show the importance of being clean-shaven when wearing a respirator mask for it to work properly. Simon completed all seven exercise without tasting the face fit solution. To prove the mask created a perfect seal, Simon took his mask of then instantly tasted the solution.

If you are looking to learn how to conduct a Face Fit test yourself, why not attend one of our Face Fit Testing Workshops? Find out more about the course or book online here.

All equipment was provided by our supplier Alpha Solway.