FFP2 masks are designed to protect against corona infection. When shopping and in local public transport, masks are mandatory in many federal states. Now a report is alarming.
Berlin – Millions of FFP2 masks * are apparently junk. They should only provide inadequate protection against corona * infection. As the world reports, 13 out of 27 masks flew through during an inspection by Dekra. Particularly explosive: According to Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CSU) in Germany *, around 8.5 million FFP2 masks have been issued by the manufacturers of these masks.
FFP2 masks: Expert doubts test procedures for virus particles
According to experts, these masks let dangerous corona * particles through. A mess in the measurement process is said to be responsible for this.
An FFP2 or FFP3 mask * (FFP stands for Face Filtering Piece) protects the wearer of the mask and the environment. “The FFP-2 standard stipulates that at least 94 percent of aerosols and particles are retained” can be found on the Dekra website.
According to Welt, all masks have been tested in advance according to the European standard EN-149 and have successfully passed the criteria of a standardized and two-stage test procedure. But this test procedure was never developed for virus aerosols, but for occupational safety, for example for construction workers.
According to Welt , particles of different sizes should be sprayed onto the mask during a test procedure for the EN-149 standard. “However, the measurement technology approved in it does not recognize test particles of different sizes,” explains Maximilian Weiß in der Welt . His company in Karlsruhe manufactures devices that can measure the finest particles.
FFP2 test procedure EN-149 standard under criticism
“We rely on a standard that doesn’t deserve the name,” said Weiß in der Welt . According to Weiß, the measurement technology could not determine the filtering out of the tiny aerosols. “The aerosol particles that we exhale are much smaller,” says the graduate engineer in the world. “Consumers are being deceived here because the standard promises a level of security that often does not exist.”
The Stiftung Warentest recently compared ten FFP2 protective masks with a high level of effectiveness, as reported by Merkur.de *. However, the result shows that three masks are “not very suitable”. However, according to Stiftung Warentest, the filter effect of the FFP2 masks was reliable for all tested models. All of them held back around 99 percent of the aerosol particles, some even more. (ml) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
Headline list image: © Bodo Schackow
