- All right, let's check out this 3M cup mask.
Is it legit or is it not?
Let's find out.
- [Narrator] This is an N95 mask,
the same type the Biden administration
has begun distributing for free.
- Oh, the concentration's coming way down here.
So that's a really good sign.
- [Narrator] N95 is a type of respirator mask.
KN95 is another.
- And it's very comfortable.
I have a good fit here.
- [Narrator] Properly fitted, masks like these
can provide better protection
from the particles that carry COVID.
- If everybody was wearing a respirator during a surge,
you would stun transmission
because you have two-way protection approaching 95%.
- [Narrator] That's 95% of particles blocked
from being inhaled and exhaled too,
thus the 95 in the names.
But that's only
when these respirator masks perform properly.
- I wanna make sure I get a good seal on it.
- [Narrator] Problem is it's tough to know
if your mask actually has 95% filtration efficiency.
A search on Amazon where masks have been a top search term
through the pandemic turns up thousands of results.
And underperforming masks can creep in.
- And notice in that concentration coming down
but not as low as I'd like to see it.
- [Narrator] So what can you do to find a good mask
and how easy is it to accidentally get a bad one?
To find out, we bought some popular masks
on Amazon and put them to the test with experts.
- That's that difference between there and there
is a sign of a good mask or a fake mask.
- [Narrator] This is Aaron Collins,
also known as the Mask Nerd.
- So these are my collection of masks.
I feel like I have every mask that you might be able
to get from South Korea
or in the United States right now.
- [Narrator] Collins is a mechanical engineer
with a background in aerosol science.
He says spotting poor-performing masks
is tough because they can look identical
to the good ones.
- That is the real crux of the problem
is you can have a good mask or have a bad mask
and you won't know.
- [Narrator] His solution?
Testing masks live on YouTube
from his home lab, which is his bathroom.
- If you just are given a mask
and you don't know anything about masks,
you're gonna think wow, I've got 95% protection.
- [Narrator] So we asked Collins
to do the same for us with the three N95s
and the five KN95s we ordered from Amazon.
All of the KN95s were listed as top 10 bestsellers
and one of the N95s was labeled
as an Amazon Choice at the time of purchase.
The N95s we ordered all received certification
from the National Institute
for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH.
We boxed up samples of the eight masks
and sent them off to Collins for testing.
- The test that I do
is what's called a total inward leakage test.
What you need for this type of measurement is two things.
You need an aerosol source and a particle counter.
- [Narrator] Without getting too technical,
Collins uses these two machines
to test the filtration efficiency of the masks
to show how they perform as he wears them.
The results appear on his laptop as he tests.
Basically the more this line falls,
the better the mask is at filtering outside aerosols.
- One thing you'll notice right away
is that that concentration has now dropped way down.
This indicates that it's very likely a legitimate mask.
- [Narrator] For his test, Collins is looking
for the highest filtration percentage possible.
He says N95s and KN95s typically reach
about 97% or higher.
Of the eight masks we sent him,
six performed well.
The one that was labeled Amazon Choice,
this 3M N95 reached 99.7%.
- All right, well, 3M ones that I got, definitely real.
- [Narrator] But two of the masks we sent
did not reach the filtration efficiency
Collins typically sees.
- Uh oh.
Not looking good.
- [Narrator] This one, a KN95 labeled Wanwane,
marked as an Amazon bestseller.
- Yeah, 88%.
That there, my friends is most likely
a very underperforming KN95.
- [Narrator] And this one.
- Undoubtful.
- [Narrator] A NIOSH-approved N95 from AERO PRO,
which came in at 92.5% in Collins' test.
- I'm not convinced that this is real either.
That's pretty low performing.
- [Narrator] So after getting these results,
the Journal sent both underperforming masks,
as well as the 3M N95 that tested well
to 4C Air, a lab that performs the tests required
for masks to receive NIOSH approval.
Five samples of each mask were tested.
All five 3M masks tested with a filtration efficiency
above 99%, which 4C Air said
is in line with most N95s it tests
but only one of the AERO PRO masks met the 95% threshold.
The rest fell short
with the mask averaging just over 93% filtration efficiency.
The lab said this indicates this batch
would likely not earn NIOSH approval
as none can fall below 95%.
NIOSH said it can't comment on the results
as the testing was not done in its lab.
All of the masks labeled Wanwane vastly underperformed,
averaging 81.9% with the lowest filtration efficiency
at 77.5%.
Based on these tests,
4C Air said this mask would fall short
of the KN95 standard.
Both AERO PRO and the company
that sells the Wanwane labeled masks
did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
In a statement, Amazon said,
"We take credible allegations of noncompliance seriously,
conduct internal investigations,
and hold bad actors accountable
for violating Amazon rules and policies."
After The Journal reached out to Amazon for comment,
the AERO PRO mask listing had been removed
and after The Journal shared the test results with Amazon,
the Wanwane mask was still available for purchase.
The white version was listed as an Amazon Choice.
So are these masks fake?
That's tough to say.
They're still masks that filter particles
but not at the 95% filtration efficiency required
by the N95 and KN95 standards
and that leaves wearers less protected than they think.
So what can you do if you have a bad mask?
Well, you can try opening one up.
- Let's go ahead and take a look in here.
So the filtration layer is this layer here.
This is the melt blown
electrostatically charged polymer layer,
it's polypropylene.
- [Narrator] While the exact number of layers
in a respirator mask may differ,
the one to look for is this filter layer,
AKA the melt blown electrostatically charged polymer layer.
- And you can see there's,
you can sort of pull that apart
and see the sort of intricate design
that goes into a filter.
- [Narrator] It's that filter
that traps the smallest aerosol particles,
the kind that can carry the virus.
But seeing the filter isn't enough
to know for sure that it's a legit mask either.
The AERO PRO and the Wanwane-labeled masks,
for example, both had filtration.
Collins says there are other clues you can look for
to spot a possibly poor mask,
starting with the labeling on the outside.
- They've got most of the KN95 standard requirements,
although they did not get the manufacturer name on there.
Make sure the mask is trying
to at least meet some of the standard requirement.
There are labeling requirements
as part of the KN95 standard.
KN95s should say KN95.
They should also say GB2626-2006 or 2019.
Lastly, they should say the manufacturer's name.
- If you just see the KN95 stamp on there,
you already know
that that mask doesn't meet the requirements
of the KN95 standard.
So what else does it not meet?
- [Narrator] None of the KN95 masks we tested,
even the high-performing ones had all
of this information on the mask,
and that, Collins said, adds to the confusion for consumers.
The Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention keeps a list
of known counterfeit KN95s
or those misrepresenting NIOSH approval.
- The N95 labeling requirements
are much more stringent.
- [Narrator] For these masks,
they also need to say N95.
They need to have the NIOSH logo
or text on there,
as well as the approval number starting
with T and C.
They also must have the manufacturer's name.
You can use the information printed on the mask
to verify its NIOSH approval
against the list on the CDC's website.
Still, that isn't foolproof either.
The AERO PRO N95 met these labeling requirements
and appeared on the NIOSH approval list, for example.
Here Collins has another tip.
Check the supplier.
- If you're buying from a big box retailer
or you're buying from the manufacturer's website
or through their Amazon web source,
if you go to like 3M's direct site,
the probability of getting a fake
I think is really much lower
because of that NIOSH requirement
and the regulation that happens around it.
- [Narrator] In the case of the AERO PRO mask,
the seller was AccuMed,
the medical supply company
that also sells third-party masks.
In a statement, AccuMed said
that as a distributor of NIOSH N95 respirators,
"We place our trust in the CDC, NIOSH
and the FDA to validate the manufacturers listed
on their websites as approved."
AccuMed said it also plans
to start independently testing the masks it sells.
It no longer sells the AERO PRO mask
The Journal purchased.
NIOSH said it will add the AERO PRO mask
to the list of the products it plans
to audit this year.
- I think it gets much harder
to be trusting of the brands
without some piece of third-party evidence
that the masks that they're supplying is good
and I don't see that on Amazon listings.
I don't see a third party
that has tested the mask
and said this is the results.
- [Narrator] Amazon said it has a rigorous seller vetting
and product review process
for N95 and KN95s that involves comparing masks
against the CDC's counterfeit mask list
and the NIOSH approval list,
as well as obtaining test results
from an accredited lab in China for KN95 masks.
When it comes to third-party sellers,
Collins suggests Project N95,
a non-profit that only sells masks it has vetted
or there's one other option.
And that's not to shop at all.
The Biden administration
has started distributing 400 million N95s
to pharmacies and community health centers
across the country.
The masks are free and limited
to three per customer.
- I'll be honest, I wish this happened in January 2021
but it's better late than never.
We will deal with more variants,
we'll deal with more epidemic surges in the future
and the bar has now been raised.
The bar has been raised to N95 masks.
This is critically important.
(dramatic music)