A Critique of Assumptions About Selecting Chemical-Resistant Gloves: A Case for Workplace Evaluation of Glove Efficacy

Abstract

Wearing chemical-resistant gloves and clothing is the primary method used to prevent skin exposure to toxic chemicals in the workplace. The process for selecting gloves is usually based on manufacturers' laboratory-generated chemical permeation data. However, such data may not reflect conditions in the workplace where many variables are encountered (e.g., elevated temperature, flexing, pressure, and product variation between suppliers). Thus, the reliance on this selection process is questionable. Variables that may influence the performance of chemical-resistant gloves are identified and discussed. Passive dermal monitoring is recommended to evaluate glove performance under actual-use conditions and can bridge the gap between laboratory data and real-world performance.

Transport of a Solvent Mixture Across Two Glove Materials When Applied in a Paint Matrix

“…Our study employing a simple method for measurement of solvent transport during actual use situations is intended to bridge the gap between laboratory data and real-world performance as recommended by several investigators (Cherrie et al 2004;Klingner and Boeniger 2002). The technique used here offers an appealing approach to some of the problems in interpreting results from the ASTM permeation procedure in the context of painting applications.…”

“…These investigators recommended that protective clothing permeation studies be performed using mixtures that reflect actual application conditions. In addition, glove chemical compatibility charts are based on breakthrough time and degradation of the glove material, which may not be reliable indicators of glove performance because they do not consider mixed solvent effects and assume that gloves provide absolute protection up to breakthrough (Mickelsen et al 1986;Cherrie et al 2004;Klingner and Boeniger 2002;Gunderson et al 1989).…”

“…When selecting appropriate chemical protective gloves for a specific task, there are many factors to consider, such as cost, efficacy, productivity, dexterity, user comfort, durability, physicochemical properties of the agents involved, and toxicity (Klingner and Boeniger 2002). The most important factor to consider in the selection process, however, is the chemical barrier property of the glove material.…”

The Study of TMAH Permeation Through Protective Rubber

“…The standard test conditions may be different from the actual environmental conditions of operation, so that the reference data of the test conducted under the standard environment is not necessarily applicable to the actual working environment, and the actual exposed hazards cannot be reflected [8,9] . At the ambient temperature of 35 C, the test specimens of NR material and NT material, respectively, experienced the permeation resistance test Figure 7 and Figure 8.…”

Permeation of Gasoline, Diesel, Bioethanol (E85), and Biodiesel (B20) Fuels Through Six Glove Materials

“…One report for gasoline and nitrile Sol-Vex gloves indicated a PR of <0.9 µg cm −2 min −1 , considerably lower than our results (23.4 µg cm −2 min −1 ). (22) As noted for BTs, SSPRs depend on the chemical-material combination, (23) and differences may be caused by the test conditions and measurement approaches, including differences in the fuel. Motor fuels are mixtures containing hundreds of chemicals-e.g., gasoline contains components such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX)-that are aggressive to rubber compounds and that can increase permeation rates.…”