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Decontamination and Reuse of Filtering Facepiece Respirators

While disposable filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs), like N95s, are not approved for routine decontamination as conventional standards of care, FFR decontamination and reuse may be needed during times of shortage to ensure continued availability. Based on the limited research available, as of April 2020, ultraviolet germicidal irradiation, vaporous hydrogen peroxide, and moist heat have shown the most promise as potential methods to decontaminate FFRs. This webpage summarizes research about decontamination of FFRs before reuse. Whether and how a facility decides to implement specific crisis strategies is at the discretion of its administrators and should be based on present and projected risk mitigation needs and local, regional, and national availability of N95s. 

Before using any decontamination method, it should be evaluated for its ability to retain 1) filtration performance, 2) fit characteristics achieved prior to decontamination, and 3) safety of the FFR for the wearer (e.g. by inactivating SARS-CoV2).