Page 27 - OHS, July/August 2020

a painful, itchy rash. Gloves and sleeves made with coreless yarns promise a fabric that is both cool to the touch and has no core materials that can break and cause irritation, making contact der- matitis a thing of the past.
Why believe? While it’s true that core materials are usually the bedrock of cut-resistance, coreless yarns get around this convention with an infusion of strength-enhancing microparticles that make the yarn cut-resistant without the need for a fiberglass, steel, or ba- salt core. The resulting material is lighter than many alternatives and it’s cooler next to the skin, which helps keep all wearers more com- fortable in general—not just those prone to skin irritation.
Handling Oily Applications
Two of the biggest glove-related problems in handling oily parts and machinery are saturated gloves and lack of grip. Coated ma- chine-knit gloves provide some relief, but there’s often a trade-off. Polyurethane is effective in light oil conditions but tends to be less effective for heavy oil. Flat and sandy nitrile coatings stand up well to oil, but can have issues with dexterity and tactile sensitivity, making it hard to handle small parts without taking them off.
Foam nitrile provides better oil grip, but can become saturated in heavy oils, making it uncomfortable against the skin and more likely to slip when handling oily parts. New technology promises to solve all of these problems with solid oil grip in a glove that resists
saturation to keep hands dry without compromising dexterity or tactile sensitivity.
Why believe? The secret is a new layering technology that takes a glove shell, dips it in a coating that deflects oil to keep hands dry, and then dips it again in a coating that actually absorbs oil to pre- vent saturation. This too almost feels like a magic trick as you can pour oil into the palm, work it around a bit as you would while handling parts on the job, and it seems to disappear as the glove absorbs the oil. An additional benefit to these gloves is that they’re significantly lighter than other double-dipped gloves. They’re also incredibly abrasion-resistant compared to other glove coatings, making them a quality choice for many rough applications.
Seeing is Believing
Of course, you should always check out any claim made by a manu- facturer and try untested products in your environment. But the good news is that the surprising claims you’re hearing are often the result of new technology solving problems we all used to think were part of the job. Just like new materials made bulky winter coats a thing of the past, advancements in safety are making PPE stronger, lighter and more comfortable than ever.
M.B. Sutherland is Senior Safety Writer at Magid—proud U.S. manufacturer and distributor of head-to-toe PPE since 1946.
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