Page 24 - OHS, July/August 2021

PPE: HAND PROTECTION
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Whether you’re talking about gloves, sleeves or clothing, comfort depends a lot on what goes against the skin. Older materials for hazardous conditions were often thick and uncomfortable, with little dexterity or movement. They also tended to trap heat and moisture, making compliance a daily headache for safety managers. Advancements in yarn and material technology now provide lighter, more breathable fabrics with extremely high cut resistance.
Manufacturers accomplish this in two ways. First, by utilizing lighter, stronger materials within the strands of yarn that make up cut-resistant fabrics. These improved yarns produce materials with a higher gauge (the number of stitches included in each inch of material) for gloves and sleeves that are up to 50 percent lighter than comparable PPE and feel more like a super-tough second skin than the thick uncomfortable gear that workers were itching to take off. That snug, but comfortable fit has the added benefit of allowing workers to pick up and assemble very small parts
without removing their gloves. New yarns infused with strength- enhancing microparticles also create coreless materials for fabrics that are cool to the touch that spare workers with more sensitive skin from painful contact dermatitis.1
Palm Coatings for Any Application
Palm coatings have been around for years, providing solid grip on top of a variety of different glove shells. For much of that time, you had six different work glove coatings to choose from, with various pluses and minuses.
Polyurethane is light and flexible, with good dexterity and tactile sensitivity. It’s ideal for dry grip and handling small parts, and it does well in light oil conditions but is less than ideal for maintaining grip in heavy oil.
Flat Nitrile is a tougher coating with excellent puncture and abrasion resistance, but it’s not ideal for small part assembly since it has a bit less dexterity.
20 Occupational Health & Safety | JULY/AUGUST 2021
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