Are Your Gloves Offering Workers The Hand Protection They Need?

Unless employers have studied the breakthrough times for the exact chemicals being used, their workers could be at risk of chemical exposure. Arco, the UK's leading safety expert warns of the risks of choosing the incorrect chemical protection gloves and how to check protection correctly.

Gloves labelled as 'chemical' (certified as EN 374) are often used without checking their level of protection against the specific substances being handled. To achieve this standard, chemical gloves only need prove resistance against one chemical for ten minutes and even for the highest rating only six individual chemicals for 30 minutes, meaning 70% of Health and Safety professionals risk choosing gloves that don't promote the level of protection they think they will.

Businesses may think they have selected the correct gloves for their workers in accordance with COSHH regulations, by using a glove type recommendation from an SDS or using breakthrough times for similar chemicals as a good approximation.

Contact with chemicals can lead to a number of health issues that are not immediately obvious, such as dermatitis. Furthermore, chemicals can also pass through the skin and cause health problems elsewhere in the body, including permanent organ damage and cancer. With symptoms of serious illnesses sometimes taking years to emerge, it is estimated that 1,000 deaths each year (excluding lung disease deaths) are linked to past chemical exposure at work. Businesses will be liable and responsible for associated costs of skin damage and illness, even if the effects were not visible or the health risks were unknown at the time.

With access to test data for 100,000s of chemicals and mixtures, as well as its own independently accredited testing laboratory, Arco is uniquely placed to advise on suitable gloves for their resistance to hazardous substances and chemical mixtures. With the COVID-19 pandemic and any subsequent challenges on the supply chain, Arco can help guide businesses in selecting reusable gloves when these are a suitable alternative to disposable ones. On top of this, Arco's team of safety experts can:

• Assess your workplace and the chemicals being used
• Help businesses select the most suitable gloves for each task
• Run user trials
• Provide employees with training on wearing gloves so that they know how long they can wear them for, and how to use them correctly

Ross Constable, Laboratory Manager at Arco said:

"Selecting the right glove for any potential exposure to chemicals is complicated and many companies don’t get it right. The time it takes for a chemical to pass through a glove (the breakthrough time) can vary dramatically and many factors can affect the level of protection chemical gloves offer, such as chemicals in different solutions and concentrations."

"A common oversight is that mixing chemicals together can have drastic effects on their breakthrough time. The shortest breakthrough time for the individual chemicals in a mixture cannot always be used to judge a safe wearing time. With so many factors to consider, it is best to consult an expert and Arco can help support businesses with choosing the right pair of gloves for the task, chemicals and environment."

For further information, to request a chemical survey or site visit or download expert resources, please visit RiskSeepingIn.

Click here to browse Arco's range of chemical gloves and order online.