Health

(WaPo) These disputes are expected to come to a head in the coming weeks. By the end of this month, the working group hopes to send out a version of the standards to experts in protective clothing and equipment, most of whom have not been involved in crafting the language. They have a month to send in their ballots, which can include suggestions for changes.

This process is far faster than usual. The safety qualities of a variety of consumer products, including car seats and fireworks, are graded by either government agencies or industry groups as a way to set standards, inform consumers and keep companies honest. Those evaluations typically take more than a year to roll out.

Rarely has there been the rapid growth of a product that has occurred in the mask market this year, and the diversity of products has been astounding, from “gaiters” worn around the neck to high-end masks made of silk or lace. Just in April, buyers purchased 12 million masks on Etsy.

“Whether it’s a standard or whether it’s something equivalent to the Consumer Reports rating (of) good, better or best, it is probably useful because otherwise people are lost,” said Philip Harber, a professor of public health at the University of Arizona who studies the use of respirators.

He warned that given some Americans’ hostility toward masks, the standards have to be “very, very, very simple.”