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Posted By Kevin Edwards
I have recently had to remind of some of our workforce, the need for wearing protective equipment when handling Liquid Nitrogen. Altough we only use small amounts at a time we have always had the policy that thermal gloves and safety glasses should be worn whilst carrying out the task.
This has now developed into a debate on whether we should or should not wear gloves whilst handing LN2. Apparently on "Tomorrows World" recently they demonstrated how you would not be harmed by pouring LN2 over your skin.
I have also seen a recommendation from the Physical chemistry lab safety that the use of gloves could be more dangerous than using nothing at all.
If anyone out there come across this issue or had a similar experience I would like to hear from them.
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Posted By Jim Walker
My guess is the idea that gloves are a bad idea is related to pouring LN2 down the wrist of the glove. We specify wrist straps plus coat sleeve over the glove top.
"This bloke told me about something he saw on Tomorrows World, your honour" is not going to stand up in court.So a always you need a risk assessment
I've got a pile of references to LN2 safety if you wish to contact me direct. However, most work I've done concentrates on the asphyxiation risks.
If you type in "safety liquid nitrogen" into google you can find several university safe systems of work which most likely will give you an accceptable standard.
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Posted By John Donaldson
To confirm what Jim has said we require all persons handling cryogenic materials or objects to wear gloves.
We also specify that a full face visor should be used unless the risk assessment identifies that the risk of splashing is low in which case safety glasses may be used in place of the visor.
We also limit the volume of LN which can be held in laboratories due to the risk of asphyxiation which Jim mentioned.
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Posted By peter gotch
There's a good article in this month's Practitioner!
Peter
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Posted By Alison Dando
If your workforce are reluctant to use gloves, try reminding them that in the NHS they use LN2 to remove verrucas and warts, so how much good healthy skin do they want removed if they don't use gloves. Like all have previously said those areas that use LN2 in our NHS Trust have got risk assessments done that clearly state PPE (which include appropriate gloves)as a control measure
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Posted By Diane Warne
As Jim says, the anti-glove argument is about the risk of pouring liquid down the glove. Same goes for boots. Hence, cuffs/trouser legs must be outside gloves/boots.
For what it's worth, we (a university) do say that gloves i.e. proper cryogloves must be worn.
Incidentally, one senior lab person I know points out that no-one who has ever suffered a liquid nitrogen burn, however minor, will ever argue against the use of gloves - it HURTS!
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Posted By John Webster
The idea that you can safely pour LN2 over the skin relies on the same phenomenon that can be seen when water droplets skate over the top of a very hot surface. The skin is a couple of hundred degrees hotter than the boiling point of liquid nitrogen. The liquid boils so rapidly that an insulating layer of vapour is formed which lifts the droplet clear of the surface.
A good TV stunt, but not something I would wish to rely on in the workplace.
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