Gloves

Gloves – for and against

Consider whether or not it is necessary to use gloves. Gloves have the negative impact of keeping on moisture, so your skin swells up, gets warm, and open its pores. This increases the penetration of chemicals into the glove, with consequent damage to the hands. Gloves can thus harm more than they protect. In addition, some glove materials cause contact dermatitis and allergies (particularly latex). Think about whether the use of gloves is necessary.

Gloves are not necessary if there is only a risk of spillage (unless corrosive or allergenic chemicals). Just wash hands immediately after the spillage.

When should gloves be worn?

The use of gloves is essential when working with:

• Hazardous substances and materials (e.g. by absorption of wastage, immersion of the hands in a hazardous liquid, contact with skin penetrating fumes, etc.)
• Cold/warm processes
• Processes with the risk that you're chopping / cutting yourself
• Processes in sterile rooms
• Microbiology with a potential risk of infection or GMO

Wear disposable gloves if you have dry / chapped skin or sores on your hands. A non-intact skin barrier increases the risk of absorption of drugs and the risk of infection, eczema and allergies.

When using gloves

When working with gloves for more than 15 minutes, you may want to wear an under glove, made of cotton. The cotton absorbs the moisture from your hands, and the gloves should be changed when it feels wet. A dry and chapped skin increases the risk of substance entry, and thereby the risk of eczema and allergy.

Remember that used gloves must never leave the fume hood or biological safety cabinet. This is to prevent contamination of a.o. door handles, cabinet doors, etc.

Hand hygiene is extremely important. Wash hands frequently, and always when changing gloves. After wash, apply a good hand cream.

What gloves should be avoided?

Avoid latex gloves, and gloves with powder. The majority of skin disorders are caused by irritation, e.g. powder in the glove, which dries the skin out, or a bad "environment" inside a glove that has been worn for a long time. Latex gloves are not recommended because of risk of allergy caused by latex protein and rubber chemicals used to soften rubber.

What gloves should be chosen?

Chemical gloves:

The glove that protect you the best, is indicated in Kemibrug.dk, in the chemical datasheet for the individual chemical. In the lower limit field “TLV” an "H" (skin absorption) is indicated when the chemical is easily absorbed through skin.

Gloves are not equally resistant to all drugs and materials. Therefore you must be aware of the breakthrough times listed in the chemical datasheet. The breakthrough time is based on  information from the “handskeguide”, and indicates how long it takes, for the chemical to penetrate the glove. The breakthrough time (standard test EN 16523-1:2015) is performed at 23°C. In practice it is 35°C in the glove during use, and breakthrough time should be reduced. Furthermore, the glove is stretched by use, and thereby the glove thickness reduced, and hence breakthrough time should be reduced. The specified breakthrough time in Kemibrug.dk, is therefore reduced by a factor of 3, to be on the safe side. Please be aware that the breakthrough time is often for the pure substances and not mixtures.

Gloves in microbiology settings:

What to protect:

• Personal protection (Protects you against contamination from the specimen you are working with). These gloves should be approved according to the EN374* standard
• Product protection (Protects the sample you are working with from contaminants from you) . These gloves should be approved according to the EN455* standard.

* Always choose a glove that has been tested according to recognized standard. However a glove tested in one standard may pass the requirements in another standard (although not documented). A product declaration may only refer to one standard (within a given field).

Level of protection:

A batch of gloves is only approved after passing a test – the so called AQL (accepted quality level). In this test only a certain number of gloves may have holes. Therefore, the lower AQL value the better quality of the product. In most cases an AQL < 1,5 is sufficient, but if the hazard/risk is high (e.g. if you have wounds/cuts on you hand and are working with specimens able of causing infection by this route), you should choose a glove with AQL < 0.65.

Sterile gloves:

Some processes require sterile gloves, to not contaminate the product. These gloves are packed in pairs in sterile bags. The primary bag is then placed in a secondary bag, alone or with other “primary bags”. In most cases the latter is sufficient, however, keep in mind that sterility on the outside of the primary bag can only be assumed as long as the secondary bag has not been broken. It is recommended to choose a glove where the ”lower part of the glove has been turned inside out” because this makes it possible to put on the glove without touching (contaminating) the outside of the glove.