Everything You Need to Know About
Chemical-Resistant Gloves
Hand Chemical Injuries
Chemical injuries occur when workers are exposed to hazardous substances on their job. The severity of the exposure depends on the type of chemical being handled and its concentration, and in turn, determines the level of damage to the body—from dermatitis and chemical burns to severe tissue damage. So, wearing the correct PPE matters when working with dangerous chemicals.
In this article, we will discuss everything you need to know about safety gloves designed to resist chemicals so you can choose the best protection for your team.
Hand Chemical Injuries
Chemical injuries occur when workers are exposed to hazardous substances on their job. The severity of the exposure depends on the type of chemical being handled and its concentration, and in turn, determines the level of damage to the body—from dermatitis and chemical burns to severe tissue damage. So, wearing the correct PPE matters when working with dangerous chemicals.
In this article, we will discuss everything you need to know about safety gloves designed to resist chemicals so you can choose the best protection for your team.
You will learn
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- What happens when exposed to chemicals
- Common materials used to manufacture chemical-resistant gloves
- How to choose the right chemical-resistant gloves for your team
What happens when exposed to chemicals?
Chemical exposure injuries result from the body’s adverse reaction to acidic or basic chemicals on contact. But where can workers come across such chemicals?
Almost every industrial setting uses some chemicals. In mining, workers separate minerals through chemical solutions like arsenic. In the oil and gas industry, workers treat and process the oil using various chemicals like nitric acid. Workers also frequently encounter several chemicals in everyday cleaning and maintenance tasks such as bleach, hydrogen peroxide, degreasers, and more. The severity of exposure in any of these cases depends on the specific chemical properties of the substance they’re handling.
How is chemical exposure counteracted?
By wearing the right PPE!
Superior Glove offers chemical-resistant gloves that are designed to avoid direct contact with hazardous substances and surfaces by creating a barrier to prevent liquid penetration. Chemical gloves use a double- or single-layer construction method. In the double-layer method (supported), the outer shell is made of materials that serves as a barrier against chemicals and liquids, while the inner layer offers comfort and support. The single-layer method (unsupported) only contains the outer shell to protect against chemicals and liquids.
To counteract downward force, glove manufacturers engineer materials that have enhanced strength and hardness. When the strength of a material’s fiber is significant enough, it resists stretching and snapping. When a fiber’s hardness is great enough, it resists being separated.
Industry standards also apply these same forces to test and measure the effectiveness of puncture-resistant gloves and assign them protection levels.
Materials used in chemical-resistant gloves
Chemical gloves are made with rubber materials (natural and synthetic) that resist chemicals and liquids. The most common materials used in chemical-resistant gloves include nitrile, PVC, neoprene, latex, and PU.
The best way to choose the right material is to identify the chemical you’re handling and match it to the glove material that resists that chemical. For this, you can ask an expert or consult the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for your chemical, discussed later.
Chemical gloves liners
Glove liners serve as an added layer to enhance comfort, warmth, or protection for the wearer, depending on the task and work conditions. Chemical-resistant gloves with liners are called supported, while gloves without liners are called unsupported.
- Supported Gloves: These gloves feature an inner liner that shapes the hand and provides support for structural integrity. Cotton and nylon are the two most common materials used as liners for chemical gloves. The lining adds to the gloves’ comfort, durability, and ease of donning and doffing.
- Unsupported Gloves: Unsupported gloves lack an inner liner, making them less comfortable and ergonomic. They are an alternative for situations where structural integrity and hand shape retention are less critical
How we’ve engineered our chemical-resistant gloves
At Superior Glove, we offer more than just chemical protection. We use proprietary technology to incorporate other hazard protection such as impact, cut, and puncture. We also offer solutions to your teams’ unique challenges. For example, our Chemstop S230TAXVB snag-proof chemical-resistant gloves offer extreme cut resistance with hidden back-of-hand impact protection strategically placed between the liner and the shell to prevent from getting stuck, while also protecting against chemicals and liquids.
How to choose the right chemical-resistant gloves for your team
The best way to shop for chemical gloves for your team is by first identifying the chemical being handled and then matching it with the glove material that resists that chemical. For this, you can ask an expert or consult the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) which details essential information about specific chemicals. The MSDS describes the properties and potential hazards of the material, how to use it safely, and what to do in an emergency.
Note: Just like all safety gloves and PPE. Chemical-resistant gloves are not chemical proof. Although the glove material you select may resist the chemical you’re handling, eventually over time it will deteriorate the gloves and permeate through. Always avoid direct contact with chemicals and ensure to follow the outlined measures for handling and exposure as detailed in your MSDS.
Other considerations to keep in mind when selecting chemical-resistant gloves include:
Cuff length
The choice of cuff length depends on the type of task and the level of exposure. Longer cuffed chemical-resistant gloves provide coverage and prevents chemical exposure to the wrists and lower arms. Standard practice for almost all chemical gloves is a gauntlet cuff (4″ or longer cuff length) for added protection.
Glove thickness
Chemicals with high concentration tend to deteriorate gloves quicker than chemicals with low concentration. If the chemicals being handled are highly concentrated, it is important to look at the material thickness of the gloves. While this might compromise dexterity, it will offer the protection your workers need to avoid exposure.
As stated before, asking an expert or consulting the MSDS should be the standard practice before choosing the correct chemical gloves for your team.