What are KN95 face masks?

What does the GB 2626:2006 certificate says about mask respirators?

The GB 2626-2006 standard is in force in the People's Republic of China. It is about technical requirements, testing methods and certification procedures of non-powered respirators, which purify the air from particles potentially harmful, thanks to a protective filter.

This legislation does not apply to protective devices against gasses or noxious fumes.

According to this standard, respirators are classified in three categories: disposable masks, half masks respirators and full-face masks.

What does KN stand for?

KN is the acronym for the classification method, based on efficiency, for the filtering part in the masks.

KN is the acronym for the classification method, based on efficiency, for the filtering part in the masks.

The filtering efficiency must always meet the requirements shown in the chart below:

The number following the acronym (KN), refers to the mask efficiency in terms of filtration.

Do KN95 face masks protect in the same way as FFP2 masks?

Below you can find a chart comparing disposable FFP2 masks with KN95 disposable masks.

Can KN95 face masks, certified by foreign country’s standards, be used during the Covid-19 pandemic?

KN95 respirators are equivalent to FFP2 face masks. These devices are produced according to Chinese standards. For this reason the certificate is emitted with slightly different criteria: the filtering efficiency, the testing agent, the admitted capacity and the pressure drop, all differ slightly.

If these devices are FFP2 certified, they do not bear any difference in performance.