NIOSH Requesting PPE Information from Facilities
The agency is requesting information about the environmental storage condition
NIOSH is requesting information about the environmental storage conditions and inventory of PPE as stockpiles from previous public health responses may be exceeding its shelf life, according to a news release.
The agency will use the information to design a study to sample N95 respirators and high-protection level surgical gowns form stockpiles against established performance standards.
“Resource limitations may lead facilities to stockpile PPE in environments that do not meet manufacturer storage recommendations or exceed shelf life, increasing the potential for PPE degradation,” NIOSH’s request for information reads. “Even when resources exist to store PPE per manufacturer's environmental recommendations, the influence of long-term storage time alone on PPE performance has been questioned.”