Policy: Determination of the need for glove protection shall be made on the basis of a hazard assessment that considers the chemical, chemical concentration, potential of harm to chemical exposure and use conditions (including an assessment of the potential for exposure e.g. splash or immersion). Special procedures may require glove protection. For example gloves, made of chemically compatible material, should be worn for work with strong corrosives or with particularly hazardous substance. Review process for work with particularly hazardous substances shall include a glove requirement assessment.
Lab instructors are responsible for determining if and what type of glove protection is required in their instructional labs. Research supervisors are responsible for determining if and what type of glove protection is required in their research areas.
General Rules for glove use:
 Select gloves which are resistant to the chemicals you may be exposed to. Consult relevant
Safety Data sheets which may recommend a particular glove material. Consult chemical resistance guides and manufacturer’s sites for brand specific glove recommendations.
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Select gloves of the correct size and fitting.
Before use, check gloves (even new ones) for physical damage such as tears or pin holes and for previous chemical damage. This is especially important when dealing with dangerous materials.
 When removing gloves, do so in a way that avoids the contaminated exterior contacting the
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 skin.
Wash hands once gloves have been removed.
Disposable gloves must be discarded once removed. Do not save for future use.
Dispose of contaminated gloves properly.
Never wear possibly contaminated gloves outside of the laboratory or to handle telephones, computer keyboards, etc.
 Non-disposable/reusable gloves must be washed and dried, as needed, and then inspected for
 tears and holes prior to reuse.
If for any reason a glove fails, and chemicals come into contact with skin, consider it an exposure and seek medical attention.
No glove will protect from all chemical hazards. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully select gloves based on several considerations:
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Chemical
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Chemical contact time
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Chemical concentration
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Incidental splash or immersion protection
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Temperature of chemical
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Glove thickness
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Glove re-use
Other glove requirements will also affect glove selection decision:

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Length of glove
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Dexterity requirements
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Cut and abrasion resistance
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Puncture and snag resistance
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Glove grip
A number of commercial glove selection and chemical resistance guides are available to assist in glove selection. Compatibility chart rating systems will vary by the manufacturer’s design of their chart. Many use a color code, where red = bad, yellow = not recommended, green = good, or some variation on this scheme. A letter code may be used, such as E = excellent, G = Good, P = poor, NR = Not Recommended.
When numeric codes based on standard test methodology are used, in general, the higher the number, the better the protection. Any combination of these schemes may be used, so it is necessary to understand the chart before making a decision on the glove to be used.
One must be familiar with the following terminology when making a glove selection:
Permeation is a process by which a chemical can pass through a protective film without going through pinholes, pores, or other visible openings. Chemical permeation can be described in simple terms by comparing it to what happens to the air in a balloon after several hours.
Although there are no holes or defects, and the balloon is tightly sealed, the air gradually passes through its walls and escapes. ASTM Method F 739 standards is one methodology used for permeation testing. A specimen is cut from the glove and clamped into a test cell as a barrier membrane. The “exterior” side of the specimen is exposed to the hazardous chemical. At timed intervals, the unexposed “interior” side of the test cell is checked for the presence of the permeated chemical and the extent to which it may have permeated the glove material.
Permeation data are reported in two values:
Breakthrough times (most commonly used) are the times observed from the start of the test to first detection of the chemical on the other side of the sample.
Breakthrough rates are the highest flow rates recorded for the permeating chemicals through the glove samples during a six-hour or eight-hour test.
Several guides will use a number rating system based on standard EN 374 “Protective gloves against chemicals and micro-organisms. Determination of resistance to penetration “ to report break through ratings. Results using this method are reported as follows:
Rating
0
1
2
Description
10 minute break through time; dangerous selection
> 10 minute break through time; Very Poor, splashes only, change quickly
> 30 minute break through time; Poor choice, change quickly when exposed
3
4
5
> 60 minute break through time; sometimes satisfactory; change soon after exposures
> 120 minute break through time; good selection; change after 2 hours
> 240 minute break through time; next best selecton; change after 4 hours

6 > 480 minute break through time; safest best selection with highest rating attainable
Degradation is the physical change in glove after chemical exposure. Typical effects may be swelling, wrinkling, deterioration or delamination. There are no accepted standards for measuring degradation.
Best Glove™ degradation testing is based on a protocol from the ASTM F23 Protective Clothing
Committee. One side of the glove material is exposed to the test chemical for 4 hours. The percent weight change is measured at four time intervals: 5, 30, 60, 240 minutes. Results are reported as follows:
Key
E
G
F
P
NR
Rating
Excellent
Good
Fair
Weight change
0-10%
11-20%
21-30%
Poor 31-50%
Not recommended Above 50%
Ansell™ cuts patches of the test material from the product. The patches are weighed and measured, and then completely immersed in the test chemical for 30 minutes. The percentage of change in size is determined, and the patches are then dried to calculate the percentage of weight change. Observed physical changes are also reported. Ratings are based on the combined data.
Cut Resistance – There are no consistent standards for measuring cut resistance. Here is an example of the cut resistance ratings Best Glove™ uses
:
Rating Description
0 < 200 grams of weight needed to cut through material with 25 mm of blade travel
1
2
3
4
>
>
>
>
200 grams of weight needed to cut through material with 25 mm of blade travel
500 grams of weight needed to cut through material with 25 mm of blade travel
1000 grams of weight needed to cut through material with 25 mm of blade travel
1500 grams of weight needed to cut through material with 25 mm of blade travel
5 > 3000 grams of weight needed to cut through material with 25 mm of blade travel
Several glove selection resources are listed below. Available on each site are the glove compatibility or chemical resistance charts for those gloves supplied by those companies. Not all chemicals will be listed on these charts. Also note that two similar gloves supplied by two separate manufacturers may not provide the same level of protection to a specific chemical. Therefore, it will be necessary to consult the manufacturer’s specific compatibility chart for the brand of gloves being used. A few more things to consider when using these resources:
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There are two basic components to consider when making glove selection: glove material and glove thickness. Common glove materials are latex, nitrile, neoprene, butyl, PVC and

PVA. There are other specialty glove materials available. Glove thickness is typically measured in mm. Most resources below will make a brand specific glove recommendation which will consider both basic components. Additional research must be done if a recommendation does not consider both basic components.
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Glove protection requirements differ on whether protection is needed from splash (and incidental contact) or immersion (significant contact over time). Some resources make distinctions in their recommendation based on whether one anticipates splash or immersion exposure.
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Most of these sites are considering industrial applications when making glove recommendations. Industrial and lab applications often differ. This emphasizes the importance of considering conditions of use and potential for chemical exposure when making the hazard assessment.
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Concentration of chemical used is a variable that should be considered when making a glove selection. Not all sites specify chemical concentration. Additional research must be done if guidance does not allow consideration of chemical concentration.
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Not all chemicals will be listed.
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Each guide and site uses slightly different rating keys. It is important to understand the rating system used for the site you are using.
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There are limits to the ability of these guides and on-line selection tools for making glove recommendations considering the number of variables that should be considered when making glove selection. Other resources should also be considered when making glove selections. Consult the chemical’s Safety Data Sheet. Consult with UW Stout’s CHO. Most glove companies and safety supply companies have technical phone support.
Listed below are several on-line sites that can be used to access chemical resistance guides and glove selection tools. A brief comment has been made about each site. This is not an all inclusive lists. Safety supply companies and other glove manufacturer sites may also prove helpful.
As a comparison point, each guide and on-line tool was checked for recommended glove use for methanol. Recommendations are listed for each site. It becomes obvious that recommendations vary, since for the most part, each site recommends brand specific gloves. This illustrates a point made above: two similar gloves supplied by two separate manufacturers may not provide the same level of protection to a specific chemical.
All Safety Guide http://www.allsafetyproducts.biz/site/323655/page/74172
Comments: All Safety provides a Glove Selection Guide on this site which recommends gloves based on glove material. Glove thickness is not taken into consideration. Chemical concentration is not taken into consideration. They use a numbered selection key ranging from 1-4 where 4 is Excellent.
Methanol recommendation (“Excellent rating”): Butyl and Viton®
Ansell
Ansell offers three options on its web site for glove selection. Recommendations are limited to
Ansell products.
th

http://www.ansellpro.com/download/Ansell_8thEditionChemicalResistanceGuide.pdf
The second option is an on-line selection tool called SpecWare. One can indicate whether one is looking for splash or immersion protection. This tool also allows one to consider combinations (mixtures) of chemicals in determining glove selection. http://www.ansellpro.com/specware/guide.asp
The third option is an “Ask the expert” option accessible from the Ansell home page. You can e-mail their technical support team with questions. http://www.ansellpro.com
Methanol recommendation for splash (SpecWare): Derma Shield (neoprene) , NeoTouch or Dura Touch
(PVC)
Methanol recommendation for immersion (SpecWare) (several others listed): Alpha TEC (nitrile), Sol-
Knit, Neox (neoprene)
Best Glove
Best Glove offers an on-line tool called ChemRest. Recommendations are limited to Best Glove products. Splash versus immersion option is not available. http://www.showabestglove.com/site/chemrest/default.aspx
Methanol recommendation (highest permeation and degradation ratings): Best Butyl II
Cole-Palmer
Cole-Palmer offers a Safety Glove Chemical Capatibility Database. Splash and immersion option not available. Concentration option not available. Chemical selected from drop down alphabetical menu. http://www.coleparmer.com/TechInfo/GloveChemComp.asp?CID=9&SrtBy=3
Methanol recommendation (overall “Good” rating) : Ansell Unsupported Neoprene; Best Butyl II
MAPA Glove
MAPA offers an easy to use on-line tool. Select a chemical from a drop down menu and glove recommendations are provided. Gives chemical concentration used in making recommendation and provides an overall protection rating along with permeation breakthrough and degradation data.
Recommendations are made by brand name. www.mapaglove.com/ChemicalSearch.cfm?id=1
Methanol recommendation (best overall protection rating): Chemzoil NL-339 (neoprene)
North
North offers an on-line selection tool called ezGuide accessed from the North home page. Site is simple to use – just type in name of chemical. Provides easy to understand data allowing for access to additional information. Splash and immersion option not available. Concentration option not available.
Recommendations are limited to North products.: http://www.northsafety.com/TriggerWorkflow.aspx?WorkflowModuleGUID=a3c3bf34-f500-45aa-a73f-
13a246669a21&Alias=NSUS&SB_ContentItemGuid=3e3b51c4-93c8-4e97-8bea-ef2bd26cd253
Methanol recommendation (“Excellent” degradation rating, high breakthrough time): Butyl (17 mm)