KATHMANDU : A device for testing personal protective equipment (PPEs), including face masks, has been developed for the first time in the country.
The device has been developed by the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) to ascertain the quality of the different types of PPEs found in the market.
NAST’s senior technology officer Dr Shanker Dhakal said that they developed the device as per the standards set by the Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology. He said there was no such device for examining the PPEs before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.
“The quality of each and every PPE, including face masks, can be ascertained with the help of this device. It tests whether synthetic blood gets through the PPE less than 15 kilo Pascal pressure as per the ASTM 1670 International Standard. Information can also be got from it as to the results bacteria or virus would give while testing the PPE mixing the virus in blood as per the ASTM 1671,” Dhakal shared regarding the device’s testing capacity.
This device, named Protective Clothing Penetration Test Device (PCT), is believed to help in the promotion of the market for masks and PPEs manufactured in Nepal by certifying them. It is said NAST is in the process of acquiring an ISO for the device.
