There is a broad range of test methods and test conditions. Standard test methods may involve a simple light test in a dark room to look for pinholes or imperfections in gloves, immersion of gloves in a chemical or biological liquid to see if penetration occurs Disposable Gloves Wholesale, or more sophisticated permeation tests to determine breakthrough time and permeation rate.
Some tests involve using the whole glove, while others may just require testing a sample or swatch of material. Exposure conditions can range from a splash test to complete liquid contact for varying lengths of time and at different temperatures and pressures.
Equipment used for the tests also can vary in degree of complexity, detection sensitivity, level of sophistication, and cost: for example, the inflatedglove waterimmersion test for determining pinhole imperfections vs. the use of an Instron for measuring tensile strength. Another criterion for these test methods is that they be reproducible and simple enough that most users can do testing for themselves at actual exposure conditions.
For the past 25 years one technical committee within ASTM, Committee F23 on Protective Clothing, has been the center of voluntary consensus standards development for items of protective clothing, such as gloves. This committee, charged with the responsibility to develop standard methods of test, terminology, classification, and performance specifications for clothing used to protect against occupational hazards, has generated 30 new standards on test methods, specifications, practices, and guides for physical, chemical, biological, and other hazards.
These performance standards have set the pace for other standardsetting organizations in the United States and internationally. The committee has sponsored eight international symposia, published eight standard technical publications (STPs), and compiled a single ASTM Protective Clothing reference on all ASTM protective clothing standards.1 The eighth international symposium in January 2004 focused on global needs and emerging markets. The purpose of the symposium was to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas on established and emerging protective clothing needs of government and industrial workers, first responders, and civilians. Standards on gloves are included in these presentations and publications.
The most recent activity in F23 is to form a new subcommittee on radiological hazards to promulgate standards for materials used, designed, and constructed to protect against radiation. Agricultural and pharmaceutical specifications for test methods and performance properties for gloves are also being considered. There is very little information about the resistance of gloves to pesticide mixtures and potent chemical therapeutic drugs TPE gloves.
Committee F23 needs more users represented at its meetings to develop more meaningful, useful practical standards and guides for other occupations. One of the most notable standard methods developed within Committee F23 was standard test method F 739–91: Test Method for Resistance of Protective Clothing Materials to Permeation by Liquids or Gases under Conditions of Continuous Contact. It was the first standard method developed by F23 and the one with the most impact on standards for gloves. The key parameters evaluated in this test method are glove breakthrough time and permeation rate.
Because gloves and hands can come in direct contact with chemical hazards, it was recognized that they were susceptible to permeation and that some glove materials were more resistant than others. By measuring the chemical breakthrough time and subsequent permeation rate, one could determine chemical hold out (resistance) and protection capacity. This was particularly important for hazardous industrial solvents (benzene) and gases (ammonia) YICHANG Gloves. Upon acceptance of this standard, numerous permeation tests were conducted and glove permeation charts and guides published. Glove users could at least now refer to how long a given glove will protect against exposure.
Manufacturers, on the other hand, could work on improving glove performance by developing new products with better resistance. Because of the diversity of chemicals and the need for guidance on test method strategy, a list of a standard battery of test chemicals was developed, F 1001–89: Guide for the Selection of Chemicals to Evaluate Clothing Materials. Now, most glove manufacturers publish the permeation results of their products using this list as a reference. While chemical glove permeation standards were the first methods to be developed by Committee F23 on Protective Clothing, another important area of standards development has been in the evolution of medical glove standards.2