Safety Gloves Byung Joon Lim 10/16/2012
Safety Gloves Protect your hands from hazardous chemicals “Gloves MUST BE worn whenever handling hazardous chemicals. Appropriate gloves MUST BE provided for all laboratory employees.” – From EHS lab safety manual Glove compatibility charts are useful to choose proper gloves.
Glove compatibility charts
Latex Mostly produced from natural rubber tree Excellent protection from aqueous solution, but weak protection from various organic chemicals Some people are allergic to latex.
Nitrile Most widely used in organic labs Synthetic rubber copolymer of acrylonitrile and butadiene Very resistant to aliphatic hydrocarbons, but permeable to aromatic hydrocarbons or ketones
Neoprene Synthetic rubber polymer registered by DuPont Monomer is chloroprene. Similar or Better protection effect against most chemical than nitrile But more expensive!
Other polymers Butyl – isobutylene and isoprene Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) – vinyl chloride Viton - hexafluoropropylene and vinylidene Fluoride Ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) – ethylene and vinylalcohol Working very well but very expensive! Hardly used as disposable gloves in labs
Cautious! “ANY glove can be permeated by chemicals.” – From EHS lab safety manual Don’t believe gloves too much - Replace used gloves regularly! Put on two folds of gloves (latex & nitrile) More information for individual solvent or chemical http://www.showabestglove.com/site/ http://www.mapaglove.com/index.cfm