Air Pollution And The Issues With Face Mask

Masks are a good way to protect oneself when in poor air for short periods of time. Extended use of masks is not healthy and should be avoided at all costs. Here’s why...

1. The air we breathe outdoors has CO2 levels of about 400 ppm. The global average is at 407ppm.

2. The air we exhale has CO2 levels of 40,000 ppm

3. There is a small gap in between your mouth and the skin of the mask such that at least five per cent of the air one exhales stays inside the mask.

4. And then when one inhales, first this five per cent of stale air goes in and then the air from outside gets filtered by the mask.

5. The math on this is clear - 5% @ 40,000 and 95% @ 400 = average exposure of CO2 = 2380 ppm. It is too high.

6. And if you are wearing a “hardened surface - sports mask” then the problem is only worse because of more than five per cent of the exhaled stays in that cavity.

Sports masks are even more problematic as they fit very tight on the face and the silicon around the mask is not only uncomfortable but causes irritation to some and leaves a mark on the skin that lasts a few hours. This obviously cannot be good from a blood circulation perspective. They only provide 85-90 per cent protection and when we breathe harder during sports (as much as 15-20 times more air per minute) then we are exposing ourselves to twice the outdoor pollution while wearing a sports mask as compared to just being outdoors without a mask and not playing or running.

There are some masks out there that follow the principle of “positive pressurisation”. They take outdoor air, filter it with a small filter and throw it into the mask. This are great to avoid PM and CO2 exposure. The only challenge with these is that in the dead of winter, the really cold air a when filtered and pushed towards you can cause some people to feel cold.

So wear a mask for short term protection. But if possible, stay indoors and get proper filtration systems that can take care of PM and CO2.

Barun Aggarwal

Guest Author The author is CEO, BreatheEasy Consultants – a full-service Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) solution provider whose focus is not only Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) but also energy conservation.