Respirator comprised of blown bicomponent fibers

A respirator comprising a fibrous web molded to a cup shape adapted to cover the mouth and nose of a person wearing the respirator, the fibrous web comprising a coherent entangled mass of blown bicomponent fibers which individually comprise a first polymeric material extending longitudinally along the fiber through a first portion of the cross-sectional area of the first fiber and a second polymeric material adhered to the first polymeric material and extending longitudinally along the fiber through a second portion of the cross-sectional area of the fiber, said fibers being prepared by extruding a layered molten mass of said first and second polymeric materials through a row of side-by-side orifices into a high-velocity gaseous stream, where the extruded streams are attenuated and drawn into a mass of entangled fibers having an essentially infinite aspect ratio.