CEN/TS 17553:2022

Textiles and textile products - Community face coverings - Minimum requirements, methods of testing and use

Publication date:   Mar 16, 2023

Scope

This document specifies the minimum requirements for reusable or single use community face coverings intended for the general public, covering the nose, mouth and chin (for minimum coverage area, see Figure 2) in order to reduce the risk of droplet/aerosol projection towards nearby people. These requirements include:
— innocuousness,
— design (including fit),
— performance,
— test methods,
— marking,
— packaging,
— information for use.

Figure 2 — Community face coverings minimum coverage area (dark area)
These requirements are applicable to:
— community face coverings made of one or multiple fabric layers (including woven, knitted, nonwoven), and including community face coverings with a removable filter in between the layers;
— community face coverings including a transparent window which allows for the wearer's mouth and facial expressions to be seen, in order to facilitate full facial recognition, lip reading and/or sign language alongside other methods of communication (see A.6);
— structured community face coverings including moulded plastic shells and rigid face coverings' components.
This document is not intended for community face coverings for children up to 4 years of age (it means until 3 years and 11 months) (see A.1).
This document is not intended for medical face masks (medical devices specified in EN 14683), nor for filtering masks to protect against particles (personal protective equipment specified in EN 149).
This document excludes impermeable nose and mouth shields (including visors) and face coverings incorporating inhalation and/or exhalation valve(s) (see A.2).