On July 1, 2020, China’s new mandatory national
standard for non-powered air purifying respirators – GB 2626-2019 – will come
into effect.
Issued by the Standardization Administration of China,
GB 2626-2019 Respiratory protection – Non-powered air-purifying particle
respirator, applies to respirators that provide protection against particles.
It does not apply to respirators that protect against harmful gases and vapor.
It is also not suitable for respirations that are used in hypoxic environments,
underwater operations, escape and firefighting.
The standard includes technical requirements relating
to:
- General requirements
- Appearance check
- Filter efficiency
- Inward leakage performance
- Respiratory resistance
- Exhalation valve
- Dead space
- Visual field
- Head harness
- Connection and connecting parts
- Lens
- Air tightness
- Flammability
- Cleaning and disinfecting
- Practical performance
- Information
- Packaging
Under the new standard, respirator facepieces are
classified as:
- Disposable
- Replaceable half-facepiece
- Full-facepiece
The filter element is categorized according to its
efficiency, using the following categories:
- Category KN – only used to filter non-oily particles
- Category KP – used to filter oily particles and
non-oily particles
The classification is decided by the level of filter
efficiency. For both Category KN and Category KP, disposable and replaceable
half-facepiece respirators can be classified as level 90, 95, or 100. There is
no level 90 for full-facepiece respirators.
Marking under the new standard is related to the structure
– disposable, replaceable half, and full-facepiece. They are also class marked
in accordance with the code specified in the standard. For example, if the
respirator has a KN90 filter element, it should be marked as GB 2626-2019 KN90.
GB 2626-2019 was included in China’s No. 17
announcement on newly approved national standards, issued in 2019. It replaces
GB 2626-2006 and contains several important technical differences that
manufacturers should consider. Detailed information can be found in Appendix E
of the standard.
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