Page 38 - OHS, January/February 2022

PPE: HAND PROTECTION
Innovative, Comfortable
Hand Protection Options for Workers
Gloves should provide protection, comfort and reduced hand fatigue.
WBY RAHIL HASAN
hen you consider that more than one million workers are sent to emergency rooms each year with hand injuries, it is clear that wearing protective hand
1 equipment is essential to everyday work.
Luckily, it has never been easier to select the proper hand protection for any work setting. There are many options available: mechanical gloves, cut-resistant gloves, chemical gloves, sleeves and more. Hand protection equipment has also evolved by leaps and bounds from your grandfather’s heavy leather work gloves. Today, gloves are made from innovative, lightweight materials that provide protection, comfort and reduced hand fatigue, so workers are more likely to wear them.
Modern PPE adapts to changing needs and environments, which means no matter what job a worker is doing, adequate PPE exists. Instead of getting in the way, modern PPE increases productivity and efficiency. Most importantly, they are easy to wear from the beginning of a shift all the way until a worker clocks out and heads home.
Hand injuries happen when workers wear gloves that are in- adequate, damaged or incorrect for the application—or they’re not wearing any gloves at all. In fact, a recent study found that 70 percent of hand injuries occurred because workers weren’t wear- ing any gloves.2 Today’s industrial safety gloves are designed to keep workers safe when handling all types of surfaces and mate- rials across a variety of environments. For example, some of the potential risks to hands and arms include chemical burns, extreme temperatures that can cause thermal burns, and abrasions, cuts and punctures.
Available Hand Protection Offerings
There are as many types of hand protection equipment on the market today as there are different jobs and applications and each one is designed to keep the user safe when used correctly. There are several options available:
Cut-resistant gloves. Using lightweight materials, modern cut- resistant gloves feature a variety of cut resistance levels, from low- est (A/A1) to highest resistance (F/A9). In contrast to older cut-re- sistant gloves, modern gloves do not make a tradeoff between loss of dexterity and cut protection. Today’s high-performance materi- als are light, breathable and comfortable with a superior grip. Cut- resistant gloves are ideal for any employee who works with sharp knives or machinery. In fact, high-end gloves have added features like water and oil repellent, sweat absorption and anti-odor and antimicrobial properties. Some gloves are even color-coded3 so us- ers can easily see the level of cut resistance they offer.
Mechanical gloves. Quality mechanical gloves are constructed from materials such as deerskin grain leather and spandex which have cut and slash protection to protect the hands while working on heavy machinery. Modern high-quality gloves
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are also reinforced at high wear areas for longer glove life. Chemical-resistant gloves. Made from a material such as nitrile, chemical gloves protect the hands against chemicals, irritants or other potentially hazardous materials. Along with additional safety features, such as reliable cut resistance, wet and dry grip, sweat resistance, enhanced dexterity, and improved comfort, high quality gloves may also feature a scannable QR code directly on the glove. Using this feature, workers can get all the glove specs easily, such as chemical breakthrough time and
technical documentation.
Thermal gloves. Designed for workers who regularly come
into contact with surfaces hot enough to cause burns, such as in labs, foundries, or mills, thermal gloves offer protection by using materials such as Kevlar, a highly heat resistant material. Manufacturers today also bolster protection with features such as using a Kevlar and cotton outer shell and a cotton/poly inner shell to allow for thermal protection up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. This approach offers cut, slash and thermal protection.
Extending Protection
While gloves are critical for protecting hands against cuts, burns, abrasions, chemical substances or impact, it doesn’t mean workers should neglect arm protection. Manufacturers today are making great strides in ensuring that high-performance protective arm sleeves not only protect but also provide excellent fit and comfort. Arm sleeves are developed to protect against workplace hazards in the broadest array of applications. From cut-resistant sleeves to chemical, thermal and so many others, arm sleeves help companies meet the demands of regulations and the needs of their workers:
Cut-resistant sleeves. Using a blend of materials, like fiberglass and polyester fibers, to provide cut protection, cut-resistant sleeves provide protection while being soft and comfortable. Many cut-resistant sleeves are now manufactured with lycra to provide elasticity and longevity, and come in a variety of lengths to suit needs.
Chemical-resistant sleeves. For any employee working with chemicals, it is important to use a sleeve in addition to chemical resistant gloves to protect against hazardous chemicals that can cause burns. With innovative materials now on the market, sleeves can be found that are resistant to more than 280 chemicals including alcohols, chlorines, ketones, esters and more. In addition, nitrile provides superior solvent resistance while being comfortable to wear for long periods of time.
Thermal sleeves. High-end manufacturers now offer cut- resistant sleeves made with Kevlar to provide cut and slash protection while also being heat resistant up to 900 degrees Fahrenheit. Kevlar is inherently flame resistant and is a great choice for workers in the glass and steel industries.