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The World Health Organisation has recently changed its advice on whether or not people should wear masks. The advice now is that masks should be worn in public where social distancing is not possible to help stop the spread of coronavirus.
1st Class is the Korean standard for face masks, and it matches the closest to Australia's P2 standard. They both filter non-oil-based particles such as those from wildfires, volcanic eruptions, etc.
Consumers must consult their local respiratory protection regulations and requirements or check with their local public health authorities for selection guidance.
But what's the difference? Well according to 3M, just some of the differences include the flow-rate amount and the exhalation resistance. You can click here for more information.
At this time, no Australian retailers are selling 1st Class masks, so we recommend going for a P2 mask instead. Keep on scrolling to check out our list of retailers that can deliver one straight to your door.
Keen to buy a few P2 masks at a time? Here are the stores that allow you to bulk buy:
According to respirator company 3M, P2, FFP2, KN95 and N95 masks are all very similar, though they do vary slightly in performance.
You can check out the differences below:
Certification/Class | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Filter performance | ≥ 95% | ≥ 95% | ≥ 95% | ≥ 94% | ≥ 94% | ≥ 95% |
Test agent | NaCl | NaCl and paraffin oil | NaCl | NaCl | NaCl and paraffin oil | NaCl |
Flow rate | 85 L/min | 95 L/min | 85 L/min | 95 L/min | 95 L/min | 85 L/min |
Total inward leakage (TIL) | N/A | ≤ 8% leakage | ≤ 8% leakage | ≤ 8% leakage | ≤ 8% leakage | Inward Leakage measured and included in User Instructions |
Inhalation resistance | ≤ 343 Pa | ≤ 70 Pa (at 30L/min)≤ 240 Pa (at 95 L/min)≤ 500 Pa (clogging) | ≤ 350 Pa | ≤ 70 Pa (at 30L/min)≤ 240 Pa (at 95L/min) | ≤ 70 Pa (at 30L/min)≤ 240 Pa (at 95L/min) | ≤ 70 Pa (w/valve)≤ 50 Pa (no valve) |
Flow rate | 85L/min | Varied – seeabove | 85L/min | Varied – seeabove | Varied – seeabove | 40L/min |
Exhalation resistance | ≤ 245 Pa | ≤ 300 Pa | ≤ 250 Pa | ≤ 120 Pa | ≤ 300 Pa | ≤ 70 Pa (w/valve) ≤ 50 Pa (no valve) |
Flow rate | 85L/min | 160L/min | 85L/min | 85L/min | 160L/min | 40L/min |
Exhalation valve leakage requirement | Leak rate ≤ 30mL/min | N/A | Depressurization to 0 Pa ≥ 20 sec | Leak rate ≤ 30mL/min | Visual inspection after 300L /min for 30 sec | Depressurization to 0 Pa ≥ 15sec |
Force applied | -245 Pa | N/A | -1180 Pa | -250 Pa | N/A | -1,470 Pa |
CO2 clearance requirement | N/A | ≤ 1% | ≤ 1% | ≤ 1% | ≤ 1% | ≤ 1% |
Each mask is also subject to various regulatory standards around the world which means that, depending on where you live, one particular type of mask will be the most common. In Australia and New Zealand, for instance, the P2 mask is the most common, while in Korea it is the 1st Class mask.
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