Page 83 - Occupational Health & Safety, June 2018

Sweaty hands inside a glove are a particularly difficult comfort problem because sweaty skin is more prone to irritation. Unfortu- nately, the most obvious way to get relief is exactly what you don’t want workers to do—remove the gloves.
As better and more varied combina- tions of features hit the market, it’s a good bet that there’s a cooler glove alternative for a job you’re doing. It’s possible the prob- lem you’re struggling with may already be solved!
M.B. Sutherland is the Senior Safety Writer at Magid—proud U.S. manufacturer and distributor of head-to-toe PPE since 1946. For more information about Magid’s safety products and expertise, visit magidglove. com/ohs-cool or call 800-444-8030.
coming into contact with it.
Think of the sensation of flipping your
pillow over to the cool side in the middle of the night, but in a glove! One such cooling fabric is High Performance Poly- ethylene (HPPE), which is a lightweight alternative to heavier cut-resistant fabrics such as Aramid. Depending on the manu- facturing process used, HPPE can provide higher cut protection in a glove that’s con- siderably cooler.
Moisture Management
Sweaty hands inside a glove are a particu- larly difficult comfort problem because sweaty skin is more prone to irritation. Un- fortunately, the most obvious way to get re- lief is exactly what you don’t want workers to do—remove the gloves.
Manufacturers are combating this problem with moisture-wicking fibers that accelerate moisture evaporation. One of the most common of these is modified polyester. Fabrics made with this special fiber, particularly when used in higher gauge gloves, are very effective at draw- ing moisture away from the skin. Though modified polyester itself has better air per- meability than many other fibers, combin- ing it with an air-permeable construction like mesh is even more efficient at speed- ing sweat evaporation to keep hands dry- er, cooler, and more comfortable even in hot conditions.
Another way to keep hands cool is to choose gloves that are made using coreless technology. Traditional cut-resistant yarn is made of an inner core, usually made of fiberglass, steel, basalt, or some combina- tion of the three. This core is wrapped in cut-resistant fibers such as HPPE or Ara- mid, along with additional fillers such as nylon, polyester, or spandex. Revolution- ary new coreless technology eliminates the core by infusing yarn with strength- enhancing micro particles to create cut resistance that’s inherent to the yarn itself. This creates a glove that’s up to 20 percent lighter, cooler, and much more comfort- able in hot environments.
Could Your Solution Already
Be Out There?
We all have our favorite gloves and materi- als and it’s easy to stick with what we know. But more manufacturers are paying atten- tion to cooling construction and technolo- gies to help keep workers protected.
www.ohsonline.com
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