There has been a lot of talk over the last week about the use of masks. What kind of masks are available, who needs them, and can they be reused? However, the public wants to know if they should make masks at home and if they should be wearing them in public. These masks are typically made out of different types of cloth found in the home. As aerosol scientists and occupational health professionals, we think about this question differently. It starts with the hierarchy of controls – a framework used in occupational health to protect workers with the most effective controls. The framework, shown in Figure 1, is an upside-down pyramid, showing five levels of control efforts: elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment or PPE. They are ranked in order of effectiveness to prevent hazardous exposures and disease. The framework also applies well for controlling exposures to novel coronavirus…
To read the entire article from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, click https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/johns-hopkins-education-and-research-center-for-occupational-safety-and-health/can-a-mask-protect-me-putting-homemade-masks-in-the-hierarchy-of-controls
