Essential PPE 101 – Gloves

Many different industries require that their workers use personal protective equipment (PPE) of some form or another. From the eye, hearing, and head protection in trades and industrial industries to face masks, gloves, and gowns for infection control or protection against hazardous substances, protective footwear, and much more, each employee must use the appropriate PPE for their role and workplace environment.

Gloves play an essential role for people working in everything from medicine and the healthcare industry to food handling, laboratory workers, some agriculture applications, hair and beauty salons, industrial workers, tattooists, and many more.

There are several different types of gloves available – including powdered and powder-free; sterile or non-sterile; latex, neoprene, nitrile gloves, and others. Which is right for your needs?

Which Type of Protective Glove is Right for You?

Latex Gloves are used in medical and other settings and offer a very high standard of durability and strength. They can be non-sterile, disposable medical gloves or sterile medical-grade gloves. They are strong and ideally used in the medical, cleaning, clinical, lab-based, quality control, and food-handling industries.

Latex gloves are available in both powdered & powder-free choices. Anyone who does not have an allergy or sensitivity to latex can use them. In Australia, they are HACCP endorsed as being food safe. In the food handling industry, for example, powder-free blue latex gloves are used as the standard it to use blue latex gloves for increased visibility, food safety, and hygiene.

Nitrile gloves are strong, durable, and very comfortable to wear. They are made from a material derived from rubber and are three times more puncture-resistant than gloves made from latex or vinyl. They are also unrivaled in terms of protection against an array of substances. This makes them ideal for use in surgery, dentistry, pathology, and industries where there is a risk of abrasions, cuts, needlestick injury, and skin exposure to chemicals, detergents, fats, oils, and any kind of splashes.

Nitrile gloves are frequently powder-free and are waterproof, and free of latex, vinyl, BPAs, MBT, and phthalates. They are non-allergenic and suitable for use by anyone with a latex allergy. They also incorporate low-sweat technology, making them ideal for use by outdoor workers and those working in hot or humid environments. They are widely used in industries including food handling, manufacturing, automotive, emergency services, cleaning, engineering, laboratory and clinical, and quality control. 

Due to nitrile’s unparalleled level of protection against biohazards, bacteria, viruses, other microorganisms, and chemicals, they are currently preferred in the medical, dental, and other health-based sectors.

Vinyl gloves are a budget-friendly, non-sterile option for workers in non-medical settings. They are more commonly used for food processing and handling, in delicatessens, butchers, salad bars, cafes, restaurants, and the cleaning industry. They are available in blue, white, and flesh colors, however, using blue vinyl gloves for food handling is preferred and recommended for their visibility. (Any damage to the glove eliciting potential food contamination by torn pieces of vinyl will be easy to identify and remove.)

Vinyl is free of latex and these gloves are endorsed by HACCP Australia for safe food handling, offering high levels of comfort and dexterity.

Neoprene Gloves are made of a synthetic rubber compound. Highly resistant to chemicals, this type of glove provides a high level of protection against oils, solvents, acids, and caustic substances. They are also the best option when it comes to handling slippery or wet materials. Unlike nitrile, however, neoprene is significantly less resistant to tears, punctures, snags, cuts, and abrasions.

What Does Glove Colour Mean?

Protective gloves come in different colors – and this is not simply an aesthetic quality. Gloves are segmented by color, in some cases, to help prevent cross-contamination. It is also easier to identify tears, snags, or other breakages in clinical or other risky settings when the glove is specifically colored.

Blue – widely used in clinical and food-preparation /handling settings as it is easy to identify glove failure.

Purple gloves are standardized for use in handling and administering cytotoxic (chemotherapy) drugs. In Australia, for example, they comply with Australian Standard ASTM D6978 and must be used anytime exposure to a cytotoxic agent is possible.

Black nitrile or latex gloves are preferred for occupational use by postal workers, law enforcement, hairdressers, beauty therapists, and tradespersons.

Conclusion

Understand why you need protective gloves in your work environment, and use this as the basis for choosing the right glove product for your unique circumstances. Using the right gloves will not only protect your health and well-being, but that of your co-workers, patrons, clients, customers, and the wider community.