The answer is clearly "yes" from various providers. It is clear: the demand from users is there. For this reason, the question arises: what does such a glove look like, how is it constructed, what can the glove do, and who offers such gloves?
Cut protection and chemical protection ?
The manufacturers have developed different concepts for their respective products and give different answers depending on whether cut protection or chemical protection is the focus of interest or occupational safety. Chemical protection is a widely diversified field. Of the more than 100 million known chemicals, perhaps 100,000 have industrial use. Far fewer are relevant from an occupational safety perspective. The technical limitations in the production of gloves from various materials should not be underestimated either.
Challenge: Combine two different material properties?
The requirement is twofold. On the one hand, good, partly excellent cut protection is needed, and on the other hand, the glove must be liquid-tight and resistant to various chemicals. Achieving these two material properties at a high level in one product comes close to squaring the circle. The challenge for the glove manufacturer lies more in combining several materials in such a way that both desired product properties are achieved, thus ensuring occupational safety. Below, the two components, cut protection and chemical protection, are considered separately to gain an understanding of the manufacturers' challenges.
Cut protection ?
First, the materials for cut-resistant gloves. This includes classics like fiberglass, steel, HPPE (High Performance Polyethylene), aramid, and similar materials. Typically, a liner is made from cut-resistant fibers, often with a small amount of elastic material, e.g., elastane or spandex. In most cases (when technically feasible), the liner is seamless knitted to potentially facilitate a subsequent coating process and offer the user good wearing comfort. Cut protection is certified according to EN 388 (CE Category 2), and the measured value can vary depending on the material used. The aim is usually to achieve at least level C or D (item 3416 from Showa even achieves level E).
The dilemma: The chemical resistance of the cut-resistant fiber ?
A dilemma is that the selected fiber material may not be resistant or only insufficiently resistant to very many chemicals. This would mean that a fiber material that is not chemically resistant cannot be used outdoors at all. In principle, however, it would be ideal to use the cut protection layer on the outside of the glove. This would protect the glove's chemical protection layer well from mechanical stress. Glass fibers are the preferred material here, as glass fibers are not attacked by many chemicals used. The goal is to improve the mechanical properties, especially cut resistance. Steel fibers and HPPE (a polymeric polyethylene) cannot be used at all in direct contact with many chemicals. Steel is attacked by most acids, and polyethylene by very many solvents. Glass fibers, on the other hand, have broken ends, and with these fine ends, they can pierce the absolutely liquid-tight chemical protection layer. As a result, chemical protection is no longer achieved during the potential penetration of chemicals. This dilemma places high demands on product development. A truly ideal solution is difficult to achieve.
Chemical protection?
There are as many possibilities here as there are materials for chemical protective gloves. Materials used in practice include, for example, nitrile rubber, PVC (vinyl), PU, and neoprene (the classics). The principle here is that a chemical protective glove can only protect against hazards for which the material used is actually sufficiently resistant according to the requirements. The requirements for combined cut protection/chemical protection gloves naturally apply just as much without any compromises as for classic chemical protection gloves. From a technical standpoint, it would be ideal to develop corresponding models with combined cut protection, based on the respective chemical protection gloves that have been on the market for many years. However, a manufacturer would only do this if there is a market, i.e., a quantifiable demand in this area of occupational safety. After all, every hazard from chemicals and mixtures can be very specific, and the requirements for chemical protection can therefore differ greatly. Other properties of great practical importance include properties such as oil grip, dexterity, wet and dry grip, and possibly abrasion resistance. According to customer statements, dexterity is very limited in almost all gloves on the occupational safety market due to their multi-layered construction. As a result, most gloves are basically only suitable for rough work, but not for work that requires a sense of touch.
The protection professionals have tested combined chemical and cut protection gloves ?
Product innovations in the field of protective gloves are constantly advancing. The safety professionals have taken a closer look at the protective gloves brought to the market for occupational safety, combining chemical and cut protection. Various gloves were evaluated and tested for comfort and product properties. The resulting product overview will be presented in a subsequent article. It must be clearly stated that there is still no optimal solution for work areas where a combination of chemical and cut protection gloves is required. The perfect glove for this application does not yet exist, as a compromise must always be made, either in cut protection or chemical protection. Optimizing wearing comfort is another challenge for manufacturers. The safety professionals are convinced that interesting further developments will emerge in the coming years – combined chemical and cut protection is effective occupational safety. Of course, the safety professionals will keep an eye on everything and will always provide current information from time to time.
