Choose The Proper Protective Gloves

It’s well known to health and safety practitioners that, in the “hierarchy” of hazard controls, personal protective equipment is last on the list. Other preventive measures - namely: elimination, substitution, engineering controls, and administrative controls (such as written safe work procedures, training, and good housekeeping) - should be considered and implemented first. Personal protective equipment, including hand protection, is a last resort – to be used as an interim measure while other hazard controls are being evaluated, or when other hazard controls have been deemed not practicable.

That said, protective gloves are commonly used in the workplace to provide hand protection. But are the proper gloves being used? Here’s an introduction to choosing the correct type of gloves.

Why Wear Gloves?

In some industries, the hands are a major route of chemical exposure. For example, workers handling farm chemicals can receive 80% or more of their total body exposure via the hands³.

Gloves can protect the hands from many hazards^1-2, including:

• Abrasion and cuts
• Heat and cold
• Radiation
• Biological agents
• Chemicals – reactive, corrosive, toxic (acute and/or chronic).

Who’s Responsible for Hand Protection?

Employers and workers share responsibility for workplace health and safety. This is a universal concept in all provincial and federal occupational health and safety legislation.

With respect to hand protection, Alberta’s legislation doesn’t address the situation specifically. Alberta’s Occupational Health & Safety Code 2006⁴ does, however, describe the following responsibilities regarding personal protective equipment (PPE):

• Employers must ensure:
  • that workers properly use and wear PPE that is correct for the hazard
  • that workers are trained in the correct use, care, limitations and assigned maintenance of PPE
  • that PPE does not endanger workers.
• Workers must use and wear PPE, as well as inspect PPE before use
• Workers must not use unsuitable PPE.

How Complicated Can It Be To Choose a Pair of Gloves?

Once you’ve identified the hazard, selecting the correct gloves requires a bit of research as well as knowledge of some basic glove characteristics.

For chemical protection, common materials include natural rubber, neoprene, nitrile rubber, PVC, and several trade name materials. Remember that your glove choice depends on the chemical. For example, liquefied propane can dissolve natural rubber; neoprene is often recommended for hand protection. Start by reviewing information on WHMIS labels and material safety data sheets. Although you’ll frequently find non-specific recommendations such as “wear appropriate hand protection”, many MSDSs will recommend specific glove materials. Next, consult your glove manufacturer for glove performance data. Most reputable manufacturers publish glove selection charts to indicate which materials are most appropriate for specific chemicals. Note that the information on these charts is specific to the glove products tested, and may not apply to similar glove materials from other manufacturers.

To make the right choice from glove selection charts, it’s important to understand common characteristics or performance factors, such as: breakthrough time, degradation, penetration, and permeation. NASD³ provides the following definitions:

• “Breakthrough Time: the time which elapses between the initial contact of a chemical with the outside surface of a protective material and when the chemical can be detected at the surface of the material.”
• “Degradation: a reduction in one of the physical properties of a glove”
• “Penetration: the movement of chemicals through zippers, stitched seams or imperfections (e.g., a pinhole)”
• “Permeation: process by which a chemical can pass a protective film without going through pores, or other visible openings”.

For chemical protection, choose a glove material with the best possible rating for each performance factor.

For protection from other hazards, common glove types include^1,2:

• To prevent abrasion and cuts from sharp edges – leather, nylon, cotton for less severe hazards; and reinforced leather, reinforced rubber or KevlarÔ mesh for severe hazards.
• Protection from heat – glove choice depends on temperature; possible solutions include Nomex, Kevlar, heat resistant leather, or Zetex.
• Protection from electrical hazards – “rubber-insulating gloves tested to appropriate voltage (CSA Standard Z259), with leather outerglove”¹

Further details are provided in References 1 and 2.

Your choice of gloves should also be based on practical issues related to the intended job. Will the gloves provide dexterity and grip required for the job? How are fit and performance affected by perspiration, crumpling, or general wear and tear? How do the gloves perform in hot weather, or at cold temperatures? If contaminated, can the gloves be cleaned or will they require special disposal procedures?

Protective gloves are a useful way of providing secondary* hand protection to your workers. By identifying or anticipating hazards and carefully choosing protective gloves, you can reduce injuries and illnesses.

Useful References

1. “Personal Protective Equipment – Hand Protection”, Safety Infogram K-10, Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, Hamilton, ON.
2. “Protective Gloves”, WorkSafe Bulletin 189, Manitoba Workplace Health & Safety, 1999.
3. “Chemical Glove Selection”, National Ag Safety Database, Center for Disease Control (USA), www.cdc.gov/nasd.
4. Section 228, Occupational Health & Safety Code 2006, Government of Alberta, Human Resources and Employment.
5. “Recommendations for Chemical Protective Clothing: A Companion to the NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards”, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (USA), 2001.2001.

* As mentioned previously, other hazard controls should be used to avoid or minimize hazardous contact with the hands. Use gloves for “secondary” protection, in the event that other hazard controls are not effective on their own.