A new bivariate respirator fit test panel representing Black South African respirator users

The findings showed that the NIOSH and Chinese bivariate panels do not adequately represent the Black South African population. Respirators designed and tested using these panels or similar ones may negatively affect the desired fit of a Black South African population. The newly developed bivariate panel for Black South Africans should be validated in future studies. It is uncertain to what extent the findings are generalizable to the South and Southern African population external to the study area of Gauteng.