The COVID-19 pandemic is increasing the need for personal protective equipment (PPE) worldwide, including the demand for facial masks used by healthcare workers. Disinfecting and reusing these masks may offer benefits in the short term to meet urgent demand. Germicidal ultraviolet light provides a nonchemical, easily deployable technology capable of achieving inactivation of H1N1 virus on masks. Working with N95-rated masks and nonrated surgical masks, we demonstrated that neither 254 nor 265 nm UV-C irradiation at 1 and 10 J/cm² had adverse effects on the masks’ ability to remove aerosolized virus-sized particles. Additional testing showed no change in polymer structure, morphology, or surface hydrophobicity for multiple layers in the masks and no change in pressure drop or tensile strength of the mask materials. Results were similar when applying 254 nm low-pressure UV lamps and 265 nm light-emitting diodes. On the basis of the input from healthcare workers and our findings, a treatment system and operational manual were prepared to enable treatment and reuse of N95 facial masks. Knowledge gained during this study can inform techno-economic analyses for treating and reusing masks or lifecycle assessments of options to reduce the enormous waste production of single-use PPE used in the healthcare system, especially during pandemics.

中文翻译：

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多次使用时，杀菌紫外线不会损害或妨碍 N95 口罩的性能

COVID-19 大流行正在增加全球对个人防护装备 (PPE) 的需求，包括医护人员对口罩的需求。对这些口罩进行消毒和重复使用可能会在短期内带来好处，以满足紧急需求。杀菌紫外线提供了一种非化学的、易于部署的技术，能够实现口罩上 H1N1 病毒的灭活。通过使用 N95 级口罩和非级外科口罩，我们证明 1 和 10 J/cm ²的 254 和 265 nm UV-C 照射均不会对口罩去除雾化病毒大小颗粒的能力产生不利影响。额外的测试表明，面罩中多层的聚合物结构、形态或表面疏水性没有变化，面罩材料的压降或拉伸强度也没有变化。当应用 254 nm 低压紫外线灯和 265 nm 发光二极管时，结果相似。根据医护人员的意见和我们的研究结果，制定了处理系统和操作手册，以实现 N95 口罩的处理和重复使用。在这项研究中获得的知识可以为处理和重复使用口罩的技术经济分析或生命周期评估提供信息，以减少医疗系统中使用的一次性个人防护装备的巨大废物产生，特别是在大流行期间。