Wearing protective gloves; when and why it is necessary

Personal protective equipment is a term that refers to working tools and equipment designed to minimise the danger of harm and accidents during the carrying out of a range of working activities, i.e., to reduce risks regarding the health and safety of workers. The principal items of PPE include protective gloves, which are considered essential in almost all operative situations.

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Wearing protective gloves means safeguarding hands from contact with potentially hazardous, contaminating or infectious agents; it is no coincidence that these items are used on a daily basis in practically all sectors, from cleaning to industry, and to the hospital/healthcare sector.

It goes without saying that specific protective gloves are available that offer particular technical characteristics that respond to determinate functions, in accordance with the field of application. As well as protective gloves, there are also models available that aim to reduce the risk of contamination and cross-infection (for example in healthcare or food preparation sectors).

Protective gloves should be chosen on the basis of the risk of lesions

Considering that, in the workplace, operators&#; hands are exposed to a wide range of potential hazards, which vary in accordance with the relative sector, it is also important to consider that the choice of the most suitable protective gloves needs to be made on the basis of a range of risk categories:

• Level I risk; i.e., minor. This refers to an extremely limited or even totally absent risk of lesions to the hands. The operator can therefore be guaranteed protection with a simple, even light, protective glove.
• Level II risk; i.e., medium risk. This means that hands may be subject to laceration, cuts, scalds, scratches, puncture wounds and similar lesions. In these cases, a CE-standardised protective glove with specific marking will be necessary.
• Level III risk; i.e., high or even irreversible risks to the hands. Therefore, it requires the use of protective gloves made specifically for the handling of the materials in question or for the professional environment in which the worker operates.

There are a number of regulations that identify protective gloves: EN ISO defines the general requirements in terms of use, safety, ergonomics or markings; EN 388 regards protection against so-called mechanical risks such as scratches, puncture wounds or cuts; EN 407 refers to thermal risks; EN 511 identifies the resistance of protective gloves against water (waterproofing) and both convective and contact cold; EN 374 refers to gloves that protect against chemical risk; while EN is specifically dedicated to welding operations. EU regulation /425 has substituted the previous directive 89/686/EEC regarding Personal Protective Equipment.

With regards to the medical-healthcare sectors, suitable gloves are those known to provide &#;biological protection&#; and are generally made with a range of materials; nitrile, latex or vinyl. Whatever the model chosen, it must always respect the 93/42/EEC directive and regulation EN 455 parts 1, 2, 3 and 4, as well as the Consolidated text on the Health and Safety of Workers.

Lastly, there are the so-called &#;food-contact gloves&#;, i.e., working gloves that must be used when handling foodstuffs.

Protective gloves; how to choose the right ones

In order to be sure that you are wearing the right protective gloves, it is obvious that one must begin with the type of task that needs to be carried out, and the level of risk of lesions to the hands.

However, the correct choice is not based exclusively on the assessment of these parameters (although they are in any case particularly important); protective gloves must, in fact, protect the health of the operator while not hindering movement. This means that the chosen glove needs to guarantee hand dexterity, in other words the ability for the operator to manipulate objects in as precise, simple and facilitated a manner as possible. This characteristic is influenced by technical specifications such as the material the glove is made of, its thickness, its deformability and its elasticity.

It is also important for protective gloves to always be ergonomic and comfortable to wear; the size must therefore be chosen carefully in order to avoid them proving to be either too small or too big for the operator. The length of the glove (up to the wrist or to the forearm) is another discriminating factor that needs to be taken into account, as is the tactile sensitivity that the glove is able to provide; touch is, in fact, an extremely important sense that, in some cases, allows hazards that may be invisible to the eye to be identified.

Lastly, protective gloves must always be made with good quality material, suitable for contact with the skin and therefore able to reduce the risk of skin breakouts or allergic reactions. In the event that the material used could effectively cause allergic reactions, this risk must be reported in detail by the manufacturer of the PPE.

How to wear protective gloves.

To conclude, we would like to dedicate a few words to explain how to correctly use this personal protective equipment for the hands.

Correctly wearing protective gloves means knowing how to put them on and take them off in a suitable manner; one classic example is disposable gloves, which are often used to defend the operator from possible biological risks. In this case, it is important that the hands are carefully washed before wearing gloves, and that the gloves are replaced if they are damaged or dirty. To remove gloves, grip the cuff, touching only the exterior of the glove, and slide it off, turning it inside out, with the second glove inside.

After this, hands must once again be thoroughly washed with soap and water.

In general, the use of protective gloves in the workplace, wherever it may be, must always be accompanied with suitable employee training. The purpose of said training is both to foster understanding of the importance of using this form of protection and in terms of its correct use and its storage and disposal.

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Gloves: The Overlooked PPE

Personal protective equipment, or PPE, is what you need when everything else has gone wrong. You don&#;t need a helmet until your head has been impacted by an outside force, usually a branch stub. You don&#;t need cut-resistant leg protection until the saw kicks back into your leg. We wear PPE to keep the consequences of unsafe acts from becoming fatal or serious, nonfatal injuries. There are gloves on the market that meet levels of protection in varying degrees; choose the one best suited to your work. Photos courtesy of John Ball.

We also wear PPE to protect us from the effect of chronic exposure to hazard sources, such as loud sounds that can result in gradual loss of hearing. We wear eye protection to reduce eye injuries from scrapes and punctures. This same PPE also can protect eyes from annoying irritants, such as sawdust that can get beneath the eyelids, causing a burning sensation until tears remove them.

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Helmet, hearing protection, eye protection and, when operating a chain saw on the ground, cut-resistant leg protection, are all requirements for tree workers during arboricultural operations. Appropriate footwear for the hazards of the workplace &#; often boots that have a non-slip sole, are cut resistant and provide ankle support &#; also are necessary but are something workers must provide themselves.

There is other PPE that, while not specifically addressed in our Z133 standards under General Safety, 3.3 Personal Protective Equipment, can provide protection from injuries, and one of these is gloves. Some workers like gloves and wear them most of the time, while others dislike the disconnect from the feel of the climbing line or saw handle. It is a matter of personal preference, but there are excellent gloves on the market with just enough tack from a coating &#; Post-it-note consistency &#; to improve grip on ropes.

Gloves can improve our ability to hold onto a surface, but they also can provide protection from many different injuries. One common burn to tree workers is not a true burn, neither thermal nor electric, but a friction burn. These are caused by abrasion that scrapes or removes the skin. These burns typically occur when a line runs through the hands too quickly. Anyone who has experienced a rope running too quickly though gripped hands knows the pain of a rope burn.

Abrasion burns &#; though painful &#; usually are not serious injuries and can be treated with a disinfecting agent, a cream and dressing. Better to avoid the burn in the first place by having a layer of protection &#; the glove surface &#; between you and the rope. Many gloves have reinforced palms to protect against rope abrasion.

Tree workers do experience thermal burns, and these come from touching a hot surface. There are many hot surfaces on a gas-powered chain saw. A good pair of gloves can provide enough insulation to protect from these thermal burns. What our gloves generally do not provide protection against are electric burns. We do not wear the insulting rubber gloves specifically designed for electrical line workers for a reason; we are not line workers.

Gloves provide protection from the small nicks and scrapes that create minor lacerations. Hand saws are a common source of these nicks. Our hand saws are sharper than many realize, and it does not take much contact with the blade to make a thin laceration on the arm or hand. Gloves can improve our ability to hold on to a surface, but they also can provide protection from many different injuries.

Cut resistance is a key requirement for arborist gloves, and many glove manufacturers note the cut resistance of their gloves. Cut resistance is measured by how a glove resists a sharp edge. Cut resistance is a function of a glove&#;s material composition and thickness. This is something that can be measured, and some suppliers identify this as a number or, more commonly, the letter &#;A&#; followed by a number. The scale is 1 to 9, with 1 being the least resistant to cuts and 9 the most. A1 is very light and flexible, but best suited for protection from abrasion. At the opposite end is A9, which provides the maximum protection from cuts but is stiff and can result in hand fatigue. Many gloves I have seen offered to arborists are rated between A4 and A6, and are designed to provide cut resistance but also flexibility and comfort. Gloves provide protection from the small nicks and scrapes that create minor lacerations.

Punctures are another hazard source to tree workers, and gloves can provide protection from these. Honeylocust thorns, for example, can easily puncture the skin, and any puncture is an avenue for pathogens. Tree workers have experienced severe infections from being punctured by thorns.

Puncture resistance also is measurable. The puncture resistance ranges from 1, which requires only 10 newtons of force to penetrate, to 5, requiring 150 newtons of force to puncture. The puncture testing was not designed for the tree-work environment, and no glove is puncture proof. There are gloves on the market that have a 5 rating that are still flexible and comfortable to wear.

Another benefit of wearing gloves for chain-saw operations is reducing vibration. While our gas-powered chain saws have made great strides in reducing vibration, a little more protection does not hurt. There are tree-worker gloves available that have memory foam or other material to absorb and dampen the vibration energy.

Per ANSI Z133-, section 8.11.1, gloves are required PPE for the operation of high-pressure air-excavation equipment.

Plants can cause pain from allergic reaction. The most frequent source is poison ivy, along with poison sumac and poison oak. Some people develop sensitivity after only a few exposures, others can take decades. The effect is cumulative &#; the more exposure, the greater the likelihood of developing sensitivity. Gloves can help reduce that exposure, but remember, the glove surface will be contaminated and must be cleaned. Also, some glove materials and construction can absorb the urushiol oils and are very difficult to clean.

Pesticide applications are an operation where gloves are a required PPE identified on the chemical label. The glove should be unlined and elbow length. This extra length protects the applicator&#;s wrists and prevent pesticides from running down the sleeves into the gloves. While the gloves must be resistant to chemicals, the specific glove requirements are listed on the pesticide label. Barrier laminates provide the highest protection for most pesticides and are frequently found on the PPE list in the labels. Butyl rubber, with a thickness greater than 14 mm, is another material with high chemical resistance for many pesticides.

The contaminant our gloves are not designed to protect from, nor should they be, is blood-borne pathogens. Any time a tree worker assists a co-worker with treating a laceration or other injury that breaks the skin, he or she must be wearing disposable &#; one-use-only &#; gloves designed for this purpose. Nitrile is the most common material for these gloves. Latex, while providing a better feel, can cause an allergic reaction for some people. Vinyl gloves may have micropores, so nitrile is the better choice, as it provides superior protection.

Finally, gloves should provide protection, not be an agent for an injury. Loose-fitting gloves can be a catch hazard and have dragged workers&#; hands into the feed rollers of a chipper. They also can catch on any jagged surface and cause the wearer to loss balance. The gauntlet gloves with the larger opening can easily snag on branches.

The ideal glove is light and thin enough not to reduce our sense of touch on an object, thick enough to provide insulation from thermal and abrasion burns and durable enough to protect from minor scrapes and punctures. Protection from cold temperatures is also a consideration. There are gloves on the market that meet these criteria in varying degrees; choose the one best suited to your work or, even better, have different pairs and choose the best one for the task at hand.

A final note

The fundamental purpose of PPE is to reduce the consequences of errors. While gloves are not specifically addressed as essential PPE, though they are identified as such under 8.11.1 High-Pressure Air-Excavation Equipment, they are still necessary for other arboricultural operations. The Z, within Section 3 General Safety Requirement, 3.3 Personal Protective Equipment 3.3.7, does have a statement that clothing and footwear appropriate to known work-site hazards shall be approved by the employer and worn by the employee. Anyone who has held a tag line, pruned a branch with a hand saw or operated a chain saw and made an error that resulted in rope burn or a laceration can probably say that a good pair of gloves is appropriate PPE.

John Ball, Ph.D., BCMA, CTSP, A-NREMT (Advanced &#; National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians), is professor of forestry at South Dakota State University.

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