The American Filtration & Separations Society will devote its entire fall conference on December 2 and 3 to the air filtration industry’s response to COVID-19: What we have witnessed, what we have learned, and what is on the horizon.

To drill down into specific filtration areas that are responding to the pandemic, the conference is offering six sessions:

1. Recent Developments in Filter Media
2. Face Masks - Industry Update
3. Laboratory Testing for Performance Against Bioaerosols
4. Air Filtration for Confined Spaces I
5. Air Filtration for Confined Spaces II
6. Disruptions to the Filtration Industry

In the “Laboratory Testing for Performance Against Bioaerosols” session on December 2, three subject matter experts will each deliver a 20-minute presentation.

John Zhang, Senior Specialist at 3M, will present “A Study of Viral Filtration Performance of Residential HVAC Filters.”

An experimental study was conducted to investigate the efficacy and effectiveness of residential HVAC filters at removing airborne virus particles. MS-2 bacteriophage organisms were grown on appropriate media, harvested, resuspended in saline, and then aerosolized into the ASHRAE 52.2 test duct using a nebulizer. Upstream and downstream air samples were taken using SKC BioStage cascade impactors. The collection plates were incubated, and the recovered plaque-forming units were enumerated to determine the filtration efficiency of filters against virus particles. This talk will present the findings of this study.

READ MORE ABOUT JOHN ZHANG HERE.

Tim Johnson of TSI Incorporated will present “Testing Respirators, Masks and Face Coverings: Current Status and Proposed Changes.”

Multiple types of standards cover different types of respirators and face coverings. Respirators in the United States are tested to NIOSH standard 42 CFR part 84. ASTM F2100 is the specification for the material used in medical face masks which are regulated by the FDA. Up until now there has not been a standard test method for evaluating face coverings that are not respirators or medical masks.

This presentation will describe the test methods used to test respirators and medical masks and the proposed changes to the ASTM test methods for medical masks. In addition, it will provide status of the development of new test methods for face coverings. Two groups – an ATSM task group and a group with ISEA (International Safety Equipment Association) are working on a specification for barrier face coverings. Both of these new proposed standards and one of the proposed changes to ASTM F2100 are considering a test method similar to the NIOSH tests for N95 respirators.

READ MORE ABOUT TIM JOHNSON HERE.

Bobby Singer, Laboratory Manager, Blue Heaven Technologies, will present “All Face Masks Are Not Created Equal.”

The COVID-19 Pandemic has made face masks a part of everyone's daily routine. With all of the different types of masks available today it can be hard to know the differences between masks. This presentation will share real laboratory data on various types of masks and face coverings.

READ MORE ABOUT BOBBY SINGER HERE.

Registration for the AFS Virtual Conference is now open.

VIEW THE ENTIRE CONFERENCE PROGRAM HERE.

PROCEED TO REGISTRATION HERE.