Personal Protective Equipment in Animal Research

Abstract

The occupational health and safety program is an integral component of a comprehensive animal care and use program. It is important to mitigate the risk of exposures of animal care and research personnel to allergens and physical, chemical, radiologic, and biologic hazards during the conduct of various tasks. This need is especially true in infectious disease and biocontainment research. One aspect of the program is the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE). Commercially available PPE should be carefully evaluated based on their material composition and performance according to manufacturer data. To help institutions and end users by providing them guidance on choosing appropriate PPE, we here discuss the regulatory framework, device standards, and materials engineering for various PPE, including gloves, shoe covers, head caps, gowns, aprons, masks, hearing and eye protection devices, and respirators. Ultimately, the choice of appropriate PPE is based on the risk assessment, which should include consideration for personnel comfort, correct device fitting, and the containment level for the hazard used.

Figure 1.

Critical (gray) zones of an (A) isolation gown and (B) a surgical gown. The entire isolation gown (areas A, B, and C), including seams but excluding cuffs, hems, and bindings, is required to have a barrier performance of at least level 1. In contrast, only the entire front of the surgical gown (areas A, B, and C), and not the area that covers the back of the personnel (area D) is required to have a barrier performance of at least level 1. Note: the illustrations are not intended to reflect specific products or designs. A rendition of this figure is found in reference 3 (adapted with permission).

Figure 2.

Protective apparel. (A) Spunbond multiply polypropylene gown; (B) apron-style polyethylene gown. Because the polypropylene gown offers only basic protection and the polyethylene gown has an open back, neither meets the PB70 standard for isolation gowns. (C) Surgical gown made of multilayered (spunbonded-meltblown-spunbonded) fabric. (D) Flash-spun, high-density polyethylene (‘Tyvek’) suit.

Figure 3.

Shoe and boot covers made of (A) polypropylene with nonskid soles, (B) polyethylene, and (C) flash-spun high-density polyethylene.

Figure 4.

Masks and respirators. (A) Three-pleated surgical mask. (B) Surgical molded mask. (C and D) N95 respirators with a metal band that seals the nose bridge area. Note: on a high nose arch or a thin nose, the metal band does not work well and may interefere with fit tests. (E) Flexible-fit design N95 respirator offers a pinch-free molded nose bridge for facial features that may not fit well with other models. (F) half-facepiece respirator with HEPA filter cartridge. (G) Full-facepiece respirator with HEPA filter cartridge. (H) Powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR) with HEPA filter cartridge within helmet.