N95 Masks Can Be Sterilized Up to Three Times, NIH Study Finds (1)

Health-care workers can safely reuse their N95 masks up to three times if they decontaminate them with a hydrogen peroxide-based sterilizer, early NIH findings show.

The findings released Wednesday come as the Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency use authorizations to STERIS Corp., Battelle Memorial Institute, and Advanced Sterilization Products Inc. to use their sterilization systems for N95 masks, which are typically designed for one-time use. All the companies authorized by the FDA to sterilize N95 masks use the vaporized hydrogen peroxide method, which the NIH scientists ultimately recommended, according to authorization letters the FDA sent to the ...