Protective glove

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A protective glove (colloquially also work glove ) is part of personal protective equipment . The term of a statutory regulation and standardization of protective gloves as protection against hazards contrasts with the colloquial term of work or rubber gloves , which are not intended to protect against hazards and are used as protection against skin contamination or moisture, e.g. B. in gardening or household chores.

to form

In the case of protective gloves, a distinction is made according to the shape of the glove and the required grip properties:

  1. Mittens for rough work
  2. Three-finger gloves for rough work that requires the mobility of certain fingers
  3. Five-finger gloves for work that requires the mobility of all fingers
Latex glove for protection against infections
Protective glove made of a leather / textile combination for protection against mechanical hazards
Firefighter gloves
Protective gloves for working with chainsaws

Protective effect

Protective gloves protect the hand up to over the wrist (depending on the length of the cuff up to over the shoulder)

  • mechanical hazards (puncture, cut, impact, abrasion, vibration)
  • thermal hazards (heat, cold, weld spatter)
  • Radiation hazards ( UV radiation , thermal radiation , laser radiation , ionizing radiation )
  • chemical hazards (chemical burns, irritation, poisoning)
  • biological hazards (infection)
  • electrical hazards (when working under voltage)

When using protective gloves against chemical hazards, it should be noted that many chemicals are not permanently retained by the protective glove, but gradually penetrate (penetrate) it. In the worst case, the glove material is not only penetrated, but destroyed. How quickly this happens depends on the glove material and the chemical involved. The manufacturers of protective gloves provide appropriate selection tables for this purpose.

Labelling

According to the European Directive for Personal Protective Equipment (89/686 / EEC), protective gloves, like other personal protective equipment, are grouped into three categories. Gloves of the first category are to be used for low risks. This category includes simply built gloves such as garden or dishwashing gloves. Protective gloves of the second category are used for medium risks that cause repairable damage. The complexly constructed gloves of the third category are used when dealing with chemicals, radiation, heat> 100 ° C and cold <−50 ° C. It is assumed here that damage that occurs without protective gloves is irreversible or fatal. Category III protective gloves must, in addition to the type test that already takes place for category II products, undergo a quality test carried out at least once a year by an independent testing institute. In addition to the obligation to enclose operating instructions (this must be in German in German-speaking countries), protective gloves must have clearly defined markings depending on the category. This allows conclusions to be drawn about categories I to III.

Protective gloves for use in the European Union, with the exception of gloves that protect against superficial mechanical injuries and chemical effects that are reversible at any time, are subject to a type test obligation, unless they have been completely manufactured in accordance with an applicable individual standard.

The gloves are often provided with an indication of the size, figures are based on the circumference of the hand at the level of the knuckles without the thumb. The size specifications correspond to the usual glove sizes .

Choice and use

The selection of suitable protective gloves must be based on a risk assessment, which shows which hazards it must protect against and in which category. There are also other criteria such as tactile ability, grip, cuff length or the possibility of processing and re-use.

Special gloves are already available for numerous purposes.

material

Depending on the purpose, various materials are used for protective gloves, often in combination:

  • Plastics ( nitrile rubber , butyl rubber , neoprene , chloroprene , polyvinyl chloride or polyvinyl alcohol ). Plastics are often used as a coating for textile gloves. Gloves made entirely of plastic are impermeable to moisture, so they tend to become damp due to perspiration, which can cause skin damage if used over a long period of time.
  • Textiles (as protection against thermal hazards, cuts ( Kevlar ), as inner lining or inner gloves to avoid perspiration, for the back and cuffs of gloves against mechanical hazards)
  • Natural rubber (latex), often substituted by plastics because of its allergenic effect.
  • Leather (mainly as protection against mechanical hazards and during welding)
  • Metals (chain gloves for meat processing, aluminum vapor deposition for heat protection gloves, lead as protection against ionizing radiation, steel mesh gloves)
  • Mineral and glass fibers in heat protection gloves for high temperatures; Asbestos was also used here earlier

Provision

If the hands are exposed to possible hazards during work, the employer in Germany must provide the employee with suitable protective gloves in sufficient numbers and in individual sizes. The employees are obliged to use the work gloves provided during work.

historical development

Medical protective gloves

The German doctor Johann Julius Walbaum first described the use of a hand covering made of watered sheep intestine in 1758. The first liquid-tight gloves were made from gutta-percha . After the vulcanization of natural rubber had been developed in 1839 , protective gloves were also manufactured using this process. However, the inflexible and thick-walled rubber gloves were only suitable for surgical use to a limited extent.

The patent for the "manufacture of gloves for surgical operations" was granted in 1878 to Thomas Forster from Streatham in England. In the United States , surgeon William Stewart introduced Halsted for wearing such rubber gloves, initially only for surgeons. From 1897 Halsted's assistant Joseph Colt Bloodgood made sure that all operating room staff at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore worked with these gloves. This enabled the wound infection rate to be reduced significantly. Until then, the strongly skin-irritating hand disinfectant carbolic acid and protective gloves made of silk or cotton were mainly used for this purpose.

The rubber gloves were boiled out after use and thus largely germ-free, in order to be used again afterwards. This approach to infection prevention was described by the surgeon Werner Zoege von Manteuffel in 1897 in his publication Rubber gloves in surgical practice .

In 1965, Ansell , which had been manufacturing surgical protective gloves since 1925, launched disposable surgical gloves sterilized by means of gamma radiation for the first time . However, the dry sterilization process caused the gloves to stick together. To prevent this, release agents such as powder made from talc or bear moss spores were used. As a result, however, the powder caused wound healing disorders in patients and irritative skin changes in the glove wearers. The use of modified corn starch initially seemed to provide relief, but soon led to new sensitizations . Powder-free latex gloves are now available, but latex itself can cause an allergy, which was first described in 1979.

In connection with the immune deficiency disease AIDS , the use of latex gloves increased significantly in the 1980s, as they were also increasingly used in non-surgical areas. In 1987, medical protective gloves became a compulsory component of vehicle first-aid kits in accordance with DIN 13164 in Germany, in order to minimize the risk of possible contagion through contact with blood and other body fluids. As medical products , medical protective gloves are subject to the relevant directive .

The S1 guideline for hygiene in clinics and practices, which is valid in Germany, describes the requirements for medical protective gloves. Accordingly, after hygienic hand disinfection, these apply to the most important infection prophylactic measures in clinics and practices and must also offer protection against cleaning agents and disinfectants as well as laboratory chemicals and other hazardous substances (e.g. cytostatics). A distinction is made between sterile and non-sterile (“unsterile”) gloves: Sterile protective gloves protect staff and patients from infections; Above all, non-sterile ones protect personnel from contamination with microorganisms and hazardous substances. Medical protective gloves tested according to DIN EN 455 only meet these requirements if they also meet the criteria according to EN 374.

Laws and norms

In the European Union, personal protective equipment is regulated by Regulation (EU) 2016/425 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on personal protective equipment and repealing Council Directive 89/686 / EEC . This ordinance, together with the PPE Implementation Act (in Germany), regulates the placing on the market of personal protective equipment and thus also protective gloves.

The requirements for protective gloves used in the EU are defined in the following standards:

  • EN 420 General requirements for gloves
  • EN 374 Protective gloves against chemicals and microorganisms
  • EN 381.4 Protective gloves for users of hand-held chainsaws
  • EN 388 protective gloves against mechanical risks
  • EN 407 protective gloves against thermal risks
  • EN 421 Protective gloves against ionizing radiation including contamination and radiation
  • EN 455 Medical disposable protective gloves
  • EN 511 protective gloves against cold
  • EN 659 fire brigade protective gloves
  • EN 1082 protective gloves for handling hand knives
  • EN 10819 protective gloves against vibrations
  • EN 16350 Protective gloves against electrostatic risks
  • EN 60903 Insulating protective gloves for work under electrical voltage
  • in preparation: welding gloves

The European glove standards EN 388 (protective gloves against mechanical risks) and EN 407 (protective gloves against thermal risks) divide the protective gloves into performance levels (LS) with regard to the level of requirements of various criteria - mostly performance classes 1 to 4.Example of the requirement: abrasion resistance, cut resistance (performance level 1 to 5), tear resistance, puncture resistance, burning behavior, contact heat, dexterity.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Directive 89/686 / EEC of the Council of December 21, 1989 on the approximation of the laws of the member states relating to personal protective equipment
  2. ↑ German Statutory Accident Insurance: Categories of Personal Protective Equipment ( Memento from November 23, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ EN 420 defines the correct labeling on protective gloves
  4. ↑ a b c d e Andreas Wittmann: From goatskin gloves to double glove indicator systems. sifa-sibe.de, November 12, 2018; accessed on February 3, 2020.
  5. ↑ Werner Zoege von Manteuffel: Rubber gloves in surgical practice. In: Centralblatt für Chirurgie 24/20, Leipzig 1897, pp. 553–556.
  6. ^ Richard Trembath: Ansell, Eric Norman (1876-1952). Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Center of Biography, Australian National University, 2005; accessed on February 4, 2020.
  7. ^ Ansell - Our history. Ansell.com 2020; accessed on February 4, 2020.
  8. ↑ Requirements for gloves for infection prophylaxis in healthcare. AWMF online, as of November 1, 2017; accessed on February 7, 2020
  9. ↑ Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FAQ; accessed on February 7, 2020
  10. ↑ HUG Technik und Sicherheit GmbH: EXPERT WORK GLOVES