Acid Gas Cartridges and Filters

Rated Acid Gas Sorbent Beds · White Band · AG and AG/P100 · NIOSH 42 CFR 84 · 3M · MSA · Moldex · Honeywell North

Which acid gas cartridge do you need?

Short answer: if the exposure is acid gas alone, a gas-only cartridge such as the 3M acid gas cartridge 6002, Moldex 7200, MSA GMB or North N75002L is correct. Where mist or dust is also present, step to a combination such as the 3M 60922 (AG/P100) or MSA GMB/P100. If solvents are in the mix too, an organic vapor acid gas cartridge like the 6003 adds a solvent bed as well.

Editor's pick: the 3M 60923 (OV/AG/P100) — acid gas exposures rarely arrive alone in real plants, and covering vapor and particulate in the same body removes the guesswork that leads to the wrong cartridge being fitted.

Affiliate disclosure: WC Safety is an independent review site. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no extra cost to you. We do not sell products directly, and no brand paid for placement.

Our methodology: how this collection was curated

We report the NIOSH approval exactly as issued, including its limits — where an approval is escape-only for a named gas, we say escape-only rather than listing the gas as covered. Nuisance-level acid gas relief is recorded as an odor feature and never as gas protection. Fitting systems are noted per cartridge because approval covers the assembled respirator rather than the part, and where an item in this grid is a respirator rather than a cartridge we say so instead of letting the collection title carry the claim.

Acid Gas Cartridges and Filters (2026)

Acid gas cartridges use a sorbent bed treated to neutralize acidic gases by chemical reaction rather than the plain physical adsorption an organic vapor bed relies on. The gases involved — hydrogen chloride, sulfur dioxide, chlorine, hydrogen fluoride and hydrogen sulfide — turn up in plating, pickling, water treatment, refrigeration and semiconductor work. Under OSHA 29 CFR 1910.134 a written change schedule is required for gas and vapor cartridges unless the cartridge carries an end-of-service-life indicator, and selection must follow an actual exposure assessment. Approvals are issued by NIOSH under 42 CFR Part 84 and every model here can be checked against the CDC NIOSH-approved respirator list or the NIOSH Certified Equipment List.

What this collection covers

Forty-one products from 3M, MSA, Moldex, Honeywell North, Gerson and GVS, in four groups:

• 13 rated acid gas cartridges, gas only — 3M 6002 and 6003, Moldex 7200 and 7300/7307, MSA GMB and GMC in both Comfo and Advantage, North N75002L and N75003L, and the Secure Click D8003.
• 16 rated combinations with P100 — 3M 60922, 60923, 60927 and 60928, MSA GMB/P100 and GMC/P100, North 7582P100L and 7583P100L, Moldex 7367, Gerson G73 and G78, and the GVS SPR474.
• 2 hydrogen fluoride-specific — the 3M 7093C and the 2076HF. Rated for HF; nuisance-level only for other acid gases.
• 7 with no rated acid gas protection — nuisance relief only: 3M 2096, 2296, 2078, the Secure Click D3096 and D9093CB, Moldex 7760, and the Moldex 2500N95, which is a disposable mask rather than a cartridge at all.

Also here: the Versaflo TR-6320N and TR-6530N, which are PAPR cartridges using the HE classification, plus one complete PAPR kit. Related: organic vapor cartridges, multi-gas cartridges, combination cartridges, P100 filters, nuisance relief respirators, the filters and cartridges hub, and facepieces in half mask and full face respirators.

Cartridge color code and coverage

How to choose an acid gas respirator setup

Does an acid gas cartridge protect against hydrogen sulfide?

For escape only, and this is the most important limitation on the page. Hydrogen sulfide is an acid gas and it appears on the approval label, which makes it entirely reasonable to assume the cartridge covers H2S work. It does not. The NIOSH approval on standard acid gas cartridges is escape-only for H2S — it exists so someone can get out of an area, not so anyone can work in one. H2S is also rapidly fatal at concentrations well below where its smell is a useful warning, because it deadens the sense of smell. Planned work in an H2S atmosphere is a supplied-air or self-contained breathing apparatus job, with gas detection, never a cartridge.

Can you use one for chlorine?

For controlled low-level exposure, yes — chlorine is a covered acid gas and a rated cartridge is the right air-purifying choice. For a chlorine release, no. A leak or spill produces concentrations that are immediately dangerous to life or health, and no air-purifying respirator is permitted in an IDLH atmosphere because it filters the air rather than supplying it. If you are searching for a chlorine gas respirator because of a leak scenario, the answer is SCBA plus evacuation, not a cartridge. Detection is a separate question again — see chlorine gas detectors. Note also that the MSA MerSorb, rated for mercury vapor and chlorine, sits outside this collection.

What about hydrogen fluoride?

HF needs the HF-specific cartridge, not a general acid gas bed. The 3M 7093C and the 2076HF carry that approval; their coverage of other acid gases is nuisance-level only, which is the reverse of what people often assume. HF also causes delayed, deep tissue injury on skin contact, so respiratory protection is only one part of the control set.

Is nuisance-level acid gas relief the same as protection?

No. A nuisance-level layer reduces odor at concentrations already below the permissible exposure limit and carries no gas approval at all. Seven products in this grid fall into that category, including one disposable mask. If you need rated acid gas protection you need a cartridge with an acid gas approval on the label — an odor layer on a P100 filter is not a substitute, however similar the packaging looks.

How do you identify a cartridge at a glance?

By its band color, which is standardized: white for acid gas, black for organic vapor, yellow for organic vapor plus acid gas, olive for multi-gas, and magenta for P100 particulate. The 3M 6002's own listing describes it as a white band cartridge. The color is a useful cross-check on a shelf, but it is not a substitute for reading the approval label, because the label carries the limits — including escape-only designations — that the color cannot express.

Service life, storage, and hard limits

Acid gas beds work by chemical reaction, so once the treatment is consumed it does not recover, and humidity accelerates the loss because moisture participates in the reaction. That makes a written change schedule more important here than almost anywhere, and it is why smell is a particularly bad indicator in this category — several of these gases either deaden the sense of smell or are dangerous below their odor threshold. Our guide to ESLI versus a written change schedule covers building one; organic vapor vs acid gas covers picking between beds, and best cartridge for acid gas works through specific cases.

Store cartridges sealed in original packaging and keep respirators bagged between shifts, since an exposed bed consumes service life doing nothing. Fittings do not interchange — 3M bayonet, 3M Secure Click, MSA Comfo, MSA Advantage, North's own connector, Moldex and GVS Elipse are separate systems, and approval applies to the complete assembly, as are respirator cartridges universal explains. And the limit that overrides everything: no air-purifying cartridge may be used in an oxygen-deficient or IDLH atmosphere, or where the contaminant is unidentified.

Acid gas cartridge FAQ

What gases does an acid gas cartridge cover?

Acidic gases including hydrogen chloride, sulfur dioxide and chlorine, via a chemically treated sorbent bed. Hydrogen sulfide appears on the label but is escape-only, and hydrogen fluoride needs an HF-specific cartridge.

Does it protect against hydrogen sulfide?

Escape only. The NIOSH approval for H2S on standard acid gas cartridges permits escape from an area, not planned work in one. H2S deadens the sense of smell and is dangerous at low concentrations, so work exposure requires supplied air with gas detection.

Can I use one for chlorine?

For controlled low-level exposure, yes. For a chlorine release, no — that is an IDLH atmosphere requiring SCBA, and no air-purifying respirator is permitted in IDLH conditions.

What color band is an acid gas cartridge?

White. Black is organic vapor, yellow is organic vapor plus acid gas, olive is multi-gas, and magenta is P100 particulate. Always confirm against the approval label, which carries limits the color cannot express.

Is nuisance-level acid gas relief the same as protection?

No. It reduces odor below the permissible exposure limit and carries no gas approval. Rated protection requires an acid gas approval on the label.

Do I need the P100 version?

Only if particulates are present as well — mist, dust or fume. If the exposure is gas alone, the gas-only cartridge is lighter and correct.

What is the difference between the 3M 6002 and 6003?

The 6002 is acid gas alone with a white band; the 6003 adds an organic vapor bed and carries a yellow band. Neither includes a particulate filter — for that, the 60922 or 60923 are the combination equivalents.

How long does an acid gas cartridge last?

It depends on the gas, concentration, humidity, breathing rate and temperature, so OSHA requires a written change schedule rather than a rule of thumb. Humidity shortens life because moisture participates in the neutralizing reaction.

Will I smell breakthrough?

Do not rely on it. Several acid gases either deaden the sense of smell or are hazardous below their odor threshold, which makes smell an unusually poor indicator in this category. Change on schedule.

Will any acid gas cartridge fit my respirator?

No. 3M bayonet, 3M Secure Click, MSA Comfo, MSA Advantage, North's own connector, Moldex and GVS Elipse are separate fitting systems, and NIOSH approval applies to the complete assembly.

Can I use these in a confined space?

Not where oxygen may be deficient, the atmosphere is IDLH, or the contaminant is unidentified. Air-purifying cartridges filter the surrounding air rather than supplying it, so those conditions require supplied-air or self-contained apparatus.

Are the Versaflo TR-6320N cartridges the same as these?

No. Those are for powered air-purifying respirators and use the HE particulate classification, a different respirator class with different approvals. They are not interchangeable with negative-pressure cartridges.

Why trust WC Safety on respiratory protection?

WC Safety reviews workplace PPE full-time as an independent affiliate site — we do not sell products, hold no inventory, and accept no paid placements. On this page that independence is mostly about limits: we say that hydrogen sulfide is escape-only on these cartridges even though it appears on the approval label, that a chlorine release is an SCBA scenario rather than a cartridge one, that hydrogen fluoride needs its own bed, and that seven of the forty-one products here carry no rated acid gas protection at all. Approvals are reported exactly as NIOSH issues them, including escape-only designations. Standards referenced are NIOSH 42 CFR Part 84 and OSHA 29 CFR 1910.134. Reviewed by Steven Eaton, WC Safety editor. Last reviewed: July 2026.