Respiratory mask using a combination of spunbond, meltblown, and activated carbon materials for reducing exposure to CO: an in vivo study.

Air pollution is a serious health problem in almost all developing and developed countries around the world. One component of air pollution dangerous for health is carbon monoxide (CO). The largest source of carbon monoxide is the burning of fossil fuels and peatland fires. The government continues to control pollution through both environmental management and summer pollution control. However, the resulting impact is less than optimal. We conducted a study to test the material used as an alternative respiratory protector in absorbing CO gas. The protective material comprised of a combination of spunbond, meltblown, and activated carbon materials. We carried the study out on a laboratory scale using experimental animals that were subjected to different stages of treatment. The results showed that respiratory protective masks with a combination of activated carbon and spunbond/meltblown materials were better able to inhibit CO exposure (p ≤ 0.001) than respiratory masks without activated carbon. The combination material is thus effective in absorbing CO; it can carry further research out on other harmful gases such as NO and NO2.