I have become aware that certain N95 respirator masks by 3M are not able to be used by healthcare workers due to the fact that they contain an exhalation valve (Example 3M #8511).
By having this valve, the hospital workers exhalation does not get filtered and therefore cannot be used.

The 8510 is very popular with tradespeople and was sold out of Home Depot / Lowe's and others (not now of course). Its called Cool Flow technology as your warm breath goes straight out this valve.

By comparison, 3M model #8210 are the preferred hospital approved version. It has no exhalation valve and therefore the healthcare worker will not put those around them at risk if they personally are asymptomatic and it will not violate the sterile ICU environment by exhaling contaminated or infectious particles.

The valve is small and is made of plastic (approx 1" square and 3/8" tall).

Can the community come together to design and or produce some type of snap on (or glued even) lid to cover the valve and therefore "convert" this mask type into the safer variety for healthcare workers and their patients? Desperate times call for desperate measures : ^ (

There may be stockpiles of these masks out there that they certainly could be using if they were accepted in the healthcare field.

Links to masks:
3M 8511
http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/1...ifications.pdf

3M #8210
https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/...ifications.pdf

Any ideas or thoughts on this would be welcomed.

Thanks!

(First post ever btw)