Health and Safety

Silver Shield
Silver Shield® is a tradename for a flexible laminate made of polyethylene/ ethylene-vinyl alcohol. This material offers resistance against permeation and breakthrough for the widest range of hazardous and toxic chemicals. Silver Shield material is excellent against aromatics, chlorines, esters, and ketones. Abrasion resistance is very good. Dexterity and flexibility are fair to good depending on the product.

Wrap Up
Choosing the right protective glove for the job is critical to safe handling of animals as well as hazardous and toxic chemicals and other laboratory tasks. The descriptions above should be used for general guidance. We must stress that you match the individual glove by manufacturer and style to the required task and exposure particulars. No single glove will protect against all harmful substances. Nor will one glove suit all applications. No matter which glove is used, they all can potentially leak or become punctured or torn. No glove can offer 100%protection either as permeation and degradation take their toll during use. To ensure the highest level of protection train employees to know the hazards of the substances they handle and the estimated breakthrough times for the gloves selected. Always handle toxic and hazardous chemicals with utmost care.

References

1. Dimethyl Mercury Hazard Information Bulletin, OSHA. March 1998. http://www.osha.gov/dts/hib/hib_data/hib19980309.html
2. Nierenberg, David W., et.al. Delayed Cerebellar Disease and Death after Accidental Exposure to Dimethylmercury. New England Journal of Medicine. June 1998. http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/338/23/1672?ijkey=576 bbde99ab04c2945a8286ebe7b275c6c057a72&keytype2=tf_ipse csha
3. John, Jeff. Chemical Exposure to Burns. Laboratory Health and Safety Committee, American Industrial Hygiene Association. Fairfax, Virginia. 2010. www.aiha.org 

Resources

• Ansell - http://ansellpro.com/specware/index.asp
• Showa-Best - http://www.bestglove.com/site/chemrest/default.aspx
• HexAmour - http://www.hexarmor.com/industries/ animal-handling-vets/
• Kimberly Clark - http://www.kcprofessional.com/us/Product-Catalog/Gloves/LaboratoryGloves.asp
• Mapa - http://www.mapaglove.com/ChemicalSearch.cfm?id=0
• Microflex - http://www.microflex.com/
• Saf-T-Gard - http://www.saftgard.com/products.htm
• North Safety - http://ezguide.northsafety.com/

Vince McLeod is an American Board of Industrial Hygiene Certified Industrial Hygienist and the senior IH with the University of Florida’s Environmental Health and Safety Division. He has 22 years experience in all facets of occupational health and safety and specializes in conducting exposure assessments and health hazard evaluations.