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SATRA invests in new respiratory testing laboratory

23rd March 2023

SATRA is to begin testing and certifying respiratory protective equipment (RPE) after a large investment into a new testing laboratory.

SATRA has long supported clients in the field of personal protective equipment (PPE) by offering testing and certification on a huge variety of products. A recent large investment into respiratory protection has been provided, now allowing testing to the following European respiratory standards:


EN 136:1998 Respiratory protective devices – full-face masks
EN 140:1998 Respiratory protective devices – half masks and quarter masks
EN 143:2021 Respiratory protective devices – particle filters
EN 149:2001+A1:2009 Respiratory protective devices – filtering half masks to protect against particles
EN 405:2001+A1:2009 Respiratory protective devices – valved filtering half masks to protect against gases or gases and particles
EN 14387:2021 Respiratory protective devices – gas filter(s) and combined filter(s)


It is important that respirator masks conform to the appropriate performance requirements to help reduce exposure and prevent long-term illness. Manufacturers and distributors need to ensure that respirators will help keep users safe while being comfortable and not interfering with work.


In Europe, it is a legal requirement to have compliance assessment before placing the product on the market. This is achieved through a type-examination process which includes independent product testing and conformity checks on production. Both the type-examination and ongoing conformity checks must be carried out by an official conformity assessment body, such as SATRA.

The new SATRA laboratory will have the specialist testing equipment to test to EN standards, including the primary piece required for respirator testing – the Total Inward Leakage machine (TIL). This test requires participants to trial respirators while performing different tasks when walking on a treadmill within a test chamber containing a sodium chloride (NaCl) mist.


The respiratory laboratory will soon be fully operational with ISO 17025 UKAS accreditation following shortly after. Please contact the PPE team at SATRA for any inquiries regarding respiratory testing,
ppe@satra.com