The aim of this study was to determine whether the acrylonitrile (ACN) content influences the permeation resistance of disposable nitrile rubber (NBR) gloves to aqueous solutions of the pesticide captan. Attenuated total reflectance/Fourier transform infrared (ATR–FTIR) spectrophotometry at 2237 ± 5 cm−1 was used to measure the ACN contents of seven different NBR gloves. The ACN contents of the gloves ranged from 12.7 to 29.9%. Permeation was conducted according to American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Method F 739‐99a with a gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis of captan in the hexane collection liquid. Significant correlations were found between (1) the ACN content and mass‐to‐area ratio and the logarithm of the steady‐state permeation rate (SSPR; Pearson correlation coefficient = 0.9227, p ≤ 0.05), and (2) the ACN content and mass‐to‐area ratio and the ASTM normalized breakthrough detection time (NBT) at 0.25 μg/cm2 (Pearson correlation coefficient = 0.9471, p ≤ 0.05). On average, the NBT increased 120 min for every 5% increase in the ACN content. The average SSPR ranged from 0.002 to 0.40 μg/cm2/min, a 200‐fold difference. Increasing the ACN content resulted in decreased SSPR. ATR–FTIR was useful in determining the NBR polymer ACN content, surface homogeneity, and potential glove chemical resistance. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 2057–2063, 2007

Every year, millions of health care, first responder, and industry workers are exposed to chemical and biological hazards. Disposable nitrile gloves are a common choice as both a chemical and physical barrier to these hazards, especially as an alternative to natural latex gloves. However, glove selection is complicated by the availability of several types or formulations of nitrile gloves, such as low-modulus, medical-grade, low-filler, and cleanroom products. This study evaluated the influence of simulated movement on the physical integrity (i.e., holes) of different nitrile exam glove brands and types. Thirty glove products were evaluated out-of-box and after exposure to simulated whole-glove movement for 2 hr. In lieu of the traditional 1-L water-leak test, a modified water-leak test, standardized to detect a 0.15 ± 0.05 mm hole in different regions of the glove, was developed. A specialized air inflation method simulated bidirectional stretching and whole-glove movement. A worst-case scenario with maximum stretching was evaluated. On average, movement did not have a significant effect on glove integrity (chi-square; p=0.068). The average effect was less than 1% between no movement (1.5%) and movement (2.1%) exposures. However, there was significant variability in glove integrity between different glove types (p ≤ 0.05). Cleanroom gloves, on average, had the highest percentage of leaks, and 50% failed the water-leak test. Low-modulus and medical-grade gloves had the lowest percentages of leaks, and no products failed the water-leak test. Variability in polymer formulation was suspected to account for the observed discrepancies, as well as the inability of the traditional 1-L water-leak test to detect holes in finger/thumb regions. Unexpectedly, greater than 80% of the glove defects were observed in the finger and thumb regions. It is recommended that existing water-leak tests be re-evaluated and standardized to account for product variability.

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Glove movement can affect chemical permeation of organic compounds through polymer glove products. However, conflicting reports make it difficult to compare the effects of movement on chemical permeation through commonly available glove types. This study was aimed to evaluate the effect of movement on chemical permeation of an organic solvent through disposable latex, nitrile, and vinyl gloves. Simulated whole-glove permeation testing was conducted using ethyl alcohol and a previously designed permeation test system. With exposure to movement, a significant decrease (p ≤ 0.001) in breakthrough time was observed for the latex (-23%) and nitrile gloves (-31%). With exposure to movement, only the nitrile glove exhibited a significant increase (p ≤ 0.001) in steady-state permeation rate (+47%) and cumulative permeation at 30 min (+111%). Even though the nitrile glove provided optimum chemical resistance against ethyl alcohol, it was most affected by movement. With exposure to movement, the latex glove was an equivalent option for overall worker protection, because it was less affected by movement and the permeation rate was lower than that of the nitrile glove. In contrast, the vinyl glove was the least affected by movement, but did not provide adequate chemical resistance to ethyl alcohol in comparison with the nitrile and latex gloves. In conclusion, glove selection should take movement and polymer type into account. Some glove polymer types are less affected by movement, most notably the latex glove in this test. With nitrile gloves, at least a factor of three should be used when attempting to assign a protection factor when repetitive hand motions are anticipated. Ultimately, the latex gloves outperformed nitrile and vinyl in these tests, which evaluated the effect of movement on chemical permeation. Future research should aim to resolve some of the observed discrepancies in test results with latex and vinyl gloves.