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LJH1978  
#1 Posted : 28 April 2020 08:47:20(UTC)
Rank: New forum user
LJH1978

Advice / clarity required. Suppliers are offering RPE spec KN95 are these approved for use in the UK? Some suppliers are suggesting yes and others are saying no, conflicting information in these difficult circumstacnes. This is for use in the Manufacturing sector and not Health Services.

HSSnail  
#2 Posted : 28 April 2020 09:00:13(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
HSSnail

Dont know if this helps, its an HSE research paper

https://www.hse.gov.uk/news/assets/docs/face-mask-equivalence-aprons-gown-eye-protection.pdf

And this is an extract

Comparison of FFP3, FFP2 and N95

Previously, the N95 could not be used in the UK as it hasn’t been tested to the European standardsand was not CE marked.. It is widely accepted by industry that the N95 is comparable to an FFP2. The3M technical bulletin ‘Comparison of FFP2, KN95, and N95 and other filtering facepiece respirator classes’ suggest it is reasonable to consider N95 and FFP2 masks are equivalent for filtering non-oilbased particles including bioaerosols (e.g. viruses).

I belive the HSE are saying FFP3 is the standard we should be using.

Bigmac1  
#3 Posted : 28 April 2020 09:21:16(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Bigmac1

Also N95 is not KN95.

N95 has been compared to FFP2 and can be used if FFP3 are in short supply, thats what I get from the HSE document, these RPE are from U.S

KN95 are not mentioned, these are from China.

thanks 1 user thanked Bigmac1 for this useful post.
HSSnail on 28/04/2020(UTC)
Roundtuit  
#4 Posted : 28 April 2020 10:13:38(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Roundtuit

The latest iteration of the PPE Directive places the duty of performance assurance firmly upon the market supplier and not their supply chain.

To supply product in the EU/UK market it must meet the essential requirements of the harmonised European Standard and having done so be applied with a CE mark.

If the box says N95 and also carries a CE mark this is incorrect (and a damned good indication the required protection will be lacking). There are growing examples of sub-standard product being presented to market (see recent RAPEX weekly reports).

https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/mechanical-engineering/personal-protective-equipment_en

The EU have not repealed any part of the directive - the link above provides information of how suppliers may be supported to provide CE compliant equipment e.g. through making the standards freely available.

Roundtuit  
#5 Posted : 28 April 2020 10:13:38(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Roundtuit

The latest iteration of the PPE Directive places the duty of performance assurance firmly upon the market supplier and not their supply chain.

To supply product in the EU/UK market it must meet the essential requirements of the harmonised European Standard and having done so be applied with a CE mark.

If the box says N95 and also carries a CE mark this is incorrect (and a damned good indication the required protection will be lacking). There are growing examples of sub-standard product being presented to market (see recent RAPEX weekly reports).

https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/mechanical-engineering/personal-protective-equipment_en

The EU have not repealed any part of the directive - the link above provides information of how suppliers may be supported to provide CE compliant equipment e.g. through making the standards freely available.

HSSnail  
#6 Posted : 28 April 2020 10:14:59(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
HSSnail

Thansk Big Mac - had not noticed the K was missing.

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