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Better Choices Improve Hand Protection for the ConstructionIndustry

The move away from leather to the protection, personal comfort, fit, launderability andflexibili ty of task-specific gloves is redefining hand protection.

Sep. 1, 2010Donald F. Groce

With the economy improving and more construction jobs in the offing, construction workers and theiremployers are scrutinizing the glove market for personal protective equipment (PPE) that will providegreat protection while facilitating efficient job performance.

More often than not, the gloves they choose are not traditional leather or cotton work gloves. Insteadthey are looking at gloves with a cotton, nylon or Kevlar liner coated with a polymer such as naturalrubber latex or the synthetic polymers, nitrile, neoprene, PVC or polyurethane. In the past few years,these coated gloves have come into their own with lighter coatings and ergonomic designs that allowworkers to keep wearing gloves for performing tasks that require more accurate feel and finerdexterity.

In the past, workers complained that they had to remove their gloves to perform delicate tasks. Thenewer, lightweight, palm coatings eliminate this situation.

In addition, today's technology produces polymeric gloves with length-of-wear times 2 to 10 timeslonger than those of leather and cotton gloves. Some flat-dipped gloves even have an extra layer ofpolymer in stress areas such as the thumb crotch between the thumb and first finger. Polyurethane-coated nylon or HPPE gloves offer very durable coatings that are super lightweight and comfortable.

These new-age gloves step up to the task for everything from jobs where dexterity is a must tosituations where visibility is key or cut protection is essential:

Unlike most leather gloves, they are sized to fit, with most gloves offered in five or more sizes. Their value of long wearability far outstrips leather gloves. They are woven of job-specific fibers such as DuPont Kevlar for cut resistance. They are coated to ensure grip with wrinkled-finished, waffle- embossed or smooth coatings in

various weights. Most models are cooler than leather gloves. Models that facilitate fine motor tasks (holding a nail or making an electrical connection, for example)

are available. They are available with features such as reinforcement at vulnerable wear points. They are completely launderable. Certain glove models come in hi-vis colors for tasks where worker visibility is key. They pose no threat from the carcinogen hexavalent chromium found in some leather gloves.

POLYMER COATINGS

The polymer coatings for these gloves may be engineered to absorb or repel oil or may serve as abarrier to chemicals that may irritate, burn or sensitize skin. Foam or sponge nitrile coatings offer aunique answer to the problem of oily grip. These coatings absorb enough of the oil from sheet metalor other oily parts to keep the parts from slipping out of your hands, which can injur your hands orother body parts. The coating also can be applied to engineered yarns designed for cut resistance.

In this post-leather age, gloves designed for cut resistance and oil absorbance are an excellentchoice to reduce injuries from cuts or dropped parts. The sponge or foam nitrile can be applied toKevlar or Kevlar blend liners or to Kevlar Steel engineered liners or to high-performancepolyethylene yarns that may be reinforced with fiberglass.

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BETTER GLOVE OPTIONS

Using an incorrect glove to protect from hazardous chemicals may be worse at times than no gloveat all. Cotton and leather gloves offer no barrier to workplace chemicals and should not be used. Incontrast, a fully coated polymer glove offers excellent protection from exposure to caustic cementwater and from exposure to hexavalent chromium from portland cement, which is a potent sensitizer.

Recent developments in glove manufacturing have made wearing gloves that protect againstlacerations or chemicals such as hexavalent chromium more attractive. Workers find flat-dipped,lightly coated gloves much more comfortable and attractive because of their dexterity, which cutsdown on hand fatigue. Still longwearing, today's lighter-weight gloves encourage continual wear bythe worker and wear for a broad range of uses.

NO EXCUSES FOR BAREHANDED WORKERS

Reduction of hand injuries in the construction industry is everyone's job.

The National Safety Council's Injury Facts 2010 lists the number of injuries by industry for fatal and

non-fatal occupational injuries across many industries based on numbers derived from the U..SBureau of Labor Statistics. For the construction industry, the last survey from 2007 lists a reported135,350 injuries that resulted in days away from work in the construction category. Of these injuries,12,530 were injuries to the fingers, 7,490 were injuries to the hand excluding fingers and 3,770 wereinjuries to the wrist.

With all the hand protection products available in the marketplace designed to enhance safety,comfort and worker acceptance, the only missing ingredients are training and enforcement.Manufacturers of polymer-coated gloves spend millions of dollars annually researching newer andbetter glove designs in sizes ranging from extra small to extra, extra large.

With all the new developments in glove technology, lack of dexterity or cumbersomeness can be athing of the past. Reduction of hand injuries in the construction industry is everyone's job. Non-leather hand protection products are designed to enhance safety, comfort and worker acceptance.

The only missing ingredients are training and enforcement. Workers must be trained on the risksassociated with the jobs they are performing and given the proper PPE to help reduce those risks.New age gloves are here to make that happen.

Donald F. Groce is a technical produc t specialist for Showa Best Glove Inc. Before joiningShowa Best, he worked for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on chemicaltoxicology studies that included the Agent Orange Study. He is a noted speaker and experton a variety of occupational and workplace hazards, including latex allergies and chemicalexposure-related illnesses.