Get Qualitative Respirator Fit Test Form

The main difference between quantitative mask fit testing and qualitative mask fit testing is that quantitative testing objectively measures the amount of leakage (quantity) while qualitative testing relies subjectively on the users taste and smell to detect leakage.

The main difference between quantitative mask fit testing and qualitative mask fit testing is that quantitative testing objectively measures the amount of leakage (quantity) while qualitative testing relies subjectively on the users taste and smell to detect leakage.

Quantitative fit testing gives users an objective and numeric measurement of respirator fit. These results allow safety professionals to make the best-informed decisions to protect their teams. In the U.S., regulatory groups such as OSHA and NFPA now require quantitative fit testing for many respirators.

What is a qualitative fit test? A qualitative fit test (QLFT) relies on the respirator wearer's senses to determine if there is a gap in the seal of the respirator to the wearer's face. The OSHA-accepted fit test protocolsexternal icon provide complete instructions for conducting QLFTs with the accepted test agents.

The main difference between the two is that a QLFT relies on a person's sense of smell or taste to determine the fit, while a QNFT test measures the actual difference in particles in the test atmosphere versus that inside the wearer's mask to determine its fitness in a particular environment.

1:45 8:15 If the wearer tastes the solution between 1 and 10 squeezes. Then 10 squeezes of the fit testMoreIf the wearer tastes the solution between 1 and 10 squeezes. Then 10 squeezes of the fit test solution should be used at the start of the fit test. If between 11 and 20 are required.

Qualitative Fit-Testing (QLFT) may be used to fit test negative pressure air-purifying respirators, if they will only be used in atmospheres less than ten times the PEL, since existing evidence only validates the QLFT protocols listed in Appendix A to identify respirators that achieve a fit factor of 100.

There are two types of fit tests: qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative fit testing is a pass/fail test method that uses your sense of taste or smell, or your reaction to an irritant in order to detect leakage into the respirator facepiece. Qualitative fit testing does not measure the actual amount of leakage.