Background: For much of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic, many countries have struggled to offer definitive guidance on the wearing of masks or face coverings to reduce the highly infectious disease transmission resulting from a lack of compelling evidence on the effectiveness of communities wearing masks, and slow acceptance that aerosols are a primary SARS-CoV-2 disease transmission mechanism. Recent studies have shown that masks have been effective in several countries and populations, leaving only a lack of quantitative data on the control of airborne dispersion from human exhalation. This current study specifically has the objective to quantify the effectiveness of non-medical grade washable masks or face coverings in controlling airborne dispersion from exhalation (both droplet and aerosol) by measuring changes in direction, particle cloud velocities, and concentration.

Design: This randomized effectiveness study used a 10% NaCl nebulized polydisperse particle solution (0.3 μm up to 10 μm in size) delivered by an exhalation simulator to conduct 94 experiment runs with combinations of 8 different fabrics, 5 mask designs, and airflows for both talking and coughing. Multiple particle sensors were instrumented to measure reduction in aerosol dispersion.

Results: Three-way multivariate analysis of variance establishes that fabric, mask design, and exhalation breath level have a statistically significant effect on changing direction, reducing velocity, or concentrations of airborne particles (Fabric: P = <0.001, Wilks’ Λ = 0.000; Mask design: P = <0.001, Wilks’ Λ = 0.000; Breath level: P = <0.001, Wilks’ Λ = 0.004). There were also statistically significant interaction effects between combinations of all primary factors.

Conclusions and Relevance: The application of facial coverings or masks can significantly reduce the airborne dispersion of aerosolized particles from exhalation by diffusing the particle cloud direction and slow down its travel speed. Consequently, the results indicate that wearing masks when coupled with social distance can decrease the potentially inhaled dose of SARS-CoV-2 aerosols or droplets especially where infectious contaminants may exist in shared air spaces. The conclusion is well aligned with the concept of “time-distance-shielding” from hazardous materials emergency response. However, the effectiveness varies greatly between the specific fabrics and mask designs used.

Masks, COVID-19, Source control, Airborne particle dispersion, Exhalation particles