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Chemical Resistance Guide


CAS N°
chemical
Glove

THE SHIELD SCIENTIFIC GLOVE CHEMICAL RESISTANCE GUIDE

To help users in their risk assessments for evaluating personal protection to chemical exposure, SHIELD Scientific has developed one of the most comprehensive chemical resistance guides. Data can be selected either by CAS number, chemical name or product type.  The testing has been conducted by REPUTABLE TESTING LABORATORIES (Respirex, STFI & Centexbel) according to EN374-3:2003 (Determination of resistance to permeation by chemicals). However we would like to stress that all of our gloves are disposable thin gauge gloves designed for light chemical protection.
 
EN374-3:2003 is the standard method in Europe for evaluating the chemical barrier performance of a glove. As such one layer of the glove is placed between two chambers. The chemical being tested is placed on one side and a receiving fluid on the other. Breakthrough occurs when a permeation rate of 1µg/cm²‾/min¹‾ is noted and is reported in minutes. This test is a total immersion test and may not be representative of the environment, where disposable gloves are used. Here the emphasis is typically on incidental chemical exposure and the gloves will often be changed once a chemical splash has been observed. It is also important to remember that the tests are done on unused gloves under laboratory conditions. In this respect the test temperature is 23°C (=/-1°C). The test methodology does not take into account the stresses and strains to which disposable gloves are subjected whilst being worn. Similarly a glove in-use is likely to be significantly warmer than an unused glove and the higher level of surface heat may accelerate chemical permeation.
 
An important additional consideration when assessing the chemical resistance properties of gloves is degradation. According to EN374-1:2003, degradation relates to the “deleterious change in one or more properties of a protective glove material due to contact with a chemical. These changes include flaking, swelling, disintegration, embrittlement, discolouration, dimensions, appearance, hardening, softening etc”. There is currently no internationally recognized test for degradation, making it difficult to assess the degradation properties of different gloves. However prEN374-4 (Part 4: Determination of resistance to degradation by chemicals) is under development and will hopefully address the need for a universal standard to measure chemical degradation.  The proposed standard is based on measuring the change in puncture resistance of a glove following continuous contact with the test chemical. Testing is done on an unexposed glove and then one hour afterwards on a glove exposed to the test chemical.  Results are expressed as a percentage, based on the mean value of three gloves tested.
 
Whilst we have endeavoured to show most of the test data that is currently available, the Chemical Resistance Guide is constantly being updated. Likewise we have chosen not to include data that may be of a very specialist nature (e.g. testing against various chemotherapy drugs). Therefore if you cannot find the chemical test data that you are seeking, please do not hesitate to contact us.

 

DISCLAIMER: The data provided was based on gloves tested under laboratory conditions, in accordance with EN374-3:2003.  The information is for guidance only and may not reflect the user's application. A risk assessment should always be made by purchaser to  assess the suitability of gloves for a specific application.