Reusable masks are now distributing antimicrobial suspicions

The reusable masks is accused of being better than nothing late There is a risk of inhalation of the core material by the user. However, a senior official said that the reusable mask was tested and very confident in its filtering effect, and also believes that copper particles will not be inhaled by the user, but will confirm the information from the manufacturer.

This reusable mask named “Cu Core Mask” (CuMask) was approved by the Innovation and Technology Bureau without public bidding to the “Hong Kong Textile and Apparel R & D Center”. It was claimed to be reusable 60 times, but it was The media’s disclosure of the name is not true, and it is not that the Hong Kong Government claimed to have won the Gold Award at the Geneva International Invention Exhibition. The centre’s chief executive officer Ge Yiwen later explained that the “copper core anti-epidemic mask” is an “enhanced version” of the award-winning design, which has ergonomics and anti-bacterial technology but has an additional anti-bacterial layer than the award-winning design, and the copper structure It has also been increased to two levels, and the number of reusable times is twice that of the winning design.

In addition, various students and experts have questioned the antivirus capabilities of copper masks. Among them, a PhD from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Hong Kong said on social networks that some parts of the copper core mask are not covered by a filter element and can penetrate through the light of a laser flashlight, which means that during use, air can be inhaled directly without filtering the filter element. This morning, he also said in a radio program that adding copper to a mask usually prevents the growth of bacteria that are worn for a long time, and copper itself cannot kill the virus.

In addition, Liang Huangfang, a former lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Polytechnic University, also indicated in a radio program that the reusable masks distributed by the Hong Kong government have construction problems: the copper core layer is too thin to block and kill the virus; Even more worrisome is that users risk inhaling copper substances because studies have shown that the maximum masked copper particles are 1.5 microns and the smallest can be less than 0.1 microns, which is enough to be inhaled by the human body.

However, Tan Zhaosheng, a senior lecturer in the Department of Physics at China University, also wrote on his Facebook that although copper particles of 0.1 to 1 micron in size are difficult to penetrate into the filter layer and are inhaled by the human body: “Are there smaller particles on the fibre or will they be? How many chances of inhaling free copper ions are released? »These problems were not detected in photographs of an electron microscope, and it is recommended that appropriate researchers study them.

He also pointed out that very small droplets can be deposited in the fibres of the filter layer of the mask, and the antibacterial layer and the filter layer are not in sufficient contact, “cannot exert antibacterial ability on the filter layer.”

Minister of Innovation and Technology Xue Yongheng said this morning in a radio program that according to the supplier’s information, mask users are not at risk of inhaling copper, and they are urging the public to be sure, but the authorities will confirm the information about the materials from the suppliers of raw materials.

Reusable masks will only be distributed in government and residential nursing homes and will not be sent to hospitals or clinics. For this, Ma Zhongyi, president of the Association of Medical Doctors, has reservations. She noted that nursing homes for the elderly are also high-risk places. Hospitals and clinics are on the same level, asking why masks can be used in nursing homes. She also said that a reusable mask has low breathability. If older people with respiratory or heart conditions wear it for a long time, it can increase the trachea and heart load.

At the beginning of the epidemic, Hong Kong people snapped up masks everywhere; four months after the incident, when the epidemic was basically under control, the Hong Kong government announced in the beginning of this month that the anti-epidemic and anti-epidemic fund set aside 800 million Hong Kong dollars to be distributed free to more than 7 million people in Hong Kong. Reusable “copper core anti-epidemic masks”, but the producers, accounts and all data are not published. After the media revealed that the director of the Hong Kong Textile and Apparel R & D Center responsible for masks is related to two contractors He was accused of black-box operations, and the centre was not able to dismiss the suspicion of doing business for himself or giving and receiving privately.