Are you using the correct standard Nitrile Gloves?

10 September 2020

Whether you work in medicine, food processing, automotive or body art, Nitrile gloves are necessary. But because they are single-use, wearers don’t think too hard about the glove’s composition.

  • Nitrile is quickly becoming the material of choice for single-use gloves.
  • The main reason is because unlike latex, which is a natural rubber, nitrile is synthetic and does not cause allergic reactions.
  • There are 1 million people in the United Kingdom that have allergies to natural rubber latex. However, this percent grows among those who have regular exposure to latex products, like disposable latex gloves.

There are also many different standards of gloves and different industries have different requirements.

EN455 – This is a medical grade glove tested to European standards and comes in four parts:

PART 1 – Tests leaks and holes.

PART 2 – Test for point of break/fail

PART 3 – Test Contamination and powder residue

Part 4 – Test of Shelf Life

EN374 – This standard of Nitrile glove is designed for protection against dangerous chemicals and NOW comes in five parts:

  1. Chemical risk performance requirements
  2. Resistance to penetration
  3. Resistance to permeation by chemicals
  4. Resistance to degradation by chemicals
  5. Terminology and performance requirements for micro-organisms risks
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Type A: Protective glove with permeation resistance of at least 30 minutes each for at least 6 test chemicals. -BEST 1ST

Type B: Protective glove with permeation resistance of at least 30 minutes each for at least 3 test chemicals. 2ND

Type C: Protective glove with permeation resistance of at least 10 minutes for at least 1 test chemical. – 3RD

AQL Level –

The lower the score the greater barrier protection the wearer will have.

Standard EN455 States gloves shall have a score of 1.5

For example, 0.65 and 1.00 would meet the standard for Lab use and surgery.

CE Category

Cat I = For minimal risk.

Cat II = Intermediate – Products are type examined by an approved body where they examine the manufacturers test results, carry out their won tests and evaluate their conformity

Cat III = For use where fatal risk is a factor – again tested by notified body for compliance 

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