In a couple of safety data sheets recently I got all excited that the supplier was bothering to recommend what glove material to select (instead of the usual 'impermeable gloves' or 'consult the glove manufacturer'). Then I was surprised to see that the recommended glove material was 'polythene'. Polythene doesn't seem like at all a good material for gloves as it lacks elasticity. Furthermore, I have never seen a polythene glove for sale anywhere. I resolved the particular issue by reference to other recommendations (and then joking about tying a plastic bag over the operator's hand) so I am posting here just out of curiosity. Are polythene gloves a real thing that people use for handling chemicals? How might the supplier have arrived at this recommendation?

When the suppliers eventually catch up there should be decent recommendations about the types of PPE - it is specified in the REACH regulations. Regarding polythene - not a long duration material and Chris Peckham will probably have comment about suitability - but in answer to your post yes they exist and do get recommended. The one that springs to mind is expanding filler foam sold to Joe public at the local DIY store - a restriction on the isocyanate content states the supplier must provide a set of disposable gloves with the package (guess which material most supply). Believe the expression is CATNAP - Cheapest Available Technology Narrowly Avoiding Prosecution.

Ansell has a Category III High Performance Polyethylene (HPPE) laminated film "Barrier" Glove and it is not cheap by any standards, http://industrialcatalogue.ansell.eu/barrier http://industrialcatalog...tyle?field_style_nid=105

Kate, As a matter of interest, are the SDS relevant in all other respects? There are a whole lot of spurious and irrelevant data sheets out there, many of which were produced only to satisfy the uninformed demand of the customer for products which were not actually harmful for supply.

The Silver Shield laminated gloves range also feature a five-layer fabric compacted to a thickness of 2.7 mil. Laminating a high-energy polymer (EVOH) with a low-energy polymer (PE) creates a fabric impervious to at least 90% of all organic chemicals for four hours at 35°C. Each layer acts as a barrier against various epoxies and industrial chemicals http://www.honeywellsafe...LVERSHIELD.aspx?site=/uk

One factor to bear in mind is that the manufacturers' permeation breakthrough times are based on a flawed laboratory test and, in any event, only provide laboratory based test data. What you will obtain in practice is generally very different to what the data tells you. There are many factors that affect how a glove will perform under actual working conditions and deciding how long a glove will protect against a particular chemical is not as simple as many assume. Furthermore, most manufacturers' data is based on single chemicals, not mixtures. I can show you a glove that will provide in excess of 4 hours protection (nominal) for each of toluene and MEK. However, when these are mixed 1:1 the permeation breakthrough time is just 9 minutes! If you want more on this it is covered in chapter 18 of the book "Protective Gloves for Occupational Use", ISBN 0-8493-1558-1, or PM me (I wrote that chapter.) Chris

An update that may be of interest. I met a sales representative from Ansell who showed me a laminated polythene glove. It is a real, certified, chemical-resistant glove rated for a wide range of chemicals and as he explained often provided in spill kits for that reason. My concerns about its lack of elasticity were correct, it doesn't mould to the hand at all, but he demonstrated that the way to use it was to put a disposable nitrile over the generously-sized polythene to force it in to place over your fingers and palm so you can actually handle things. As a skilled salesman he didn't mention the price but it didn't look cheap!

FYI The American NIOSH chemical document actually states which PPE and RPE is required, It's worth downloading.

if EU suppliers were applying REACH correctly then we would see accurate PPE descriptions in Section 8 - beware NIOSH quartz is a carcinogen! The US has its own standards and tests for PPE not directly equivalent to any EU standard.

If only it were that simple! One of the problems is that the performance of a glove can vary enormously, depending upon the nature of the task. In one study we found that the same glove, with a nominal permeation breakthrough time of 40 mins for the chemical in question provided in excess of 2 hours for one task and just 5 minutes for another! How do you cover this in a safety data sheet. Mixtures can also present a problem. I have data on a glove that provides in excess of four hour protection for each of MEK and toluene, but only 9 minutes when the two are present at a ration of 1:1. There is also the problem that different manufacturers may product apparently identical gloves that have very different permeation breakthrough times for the same chemicals. Temperature also plays a role. EN374-3 prescribes that gloves are tested at room temperature, i.e. 23 deg. C. If the gloves are tested at body temperature, e.g. 35 deg C, then the permeation rate will vary enormously, for example in one case drop by over 90%! This is one reason why I so often see gloves being used in the mistaken belief that they are protecting the wearer when this is simply not the case. Chris

Yes, polythene and polyethylene are two names for the same thing - the former being a shortened form of the latter which is the proper chemical name of it.