Getting handy with health and safety

With Health and safety legislation becoming ever more stringent, it is often a struggle to keep up. But, says Ansell’s David Staniforth, it is the humble glove that is key to making the lab safe.

Managers across industry sectors have to balance competing concerns around safety, productivity and standardisation, and the laboratory and scientific sector is no different.

Work related accidents in the laboratory industry are thankfully rare events, however, increased safety awareness and the growing web of health and safety legislation are driving many laboratory managers to review their practices and ensure that any foreseeable mishaps are adequately covered by their risk assessment.

The laboratory industry is a complex one - competition is fierce and there is a need to comply with these ever-tougher industry regulations. You have to put safety first in all your activities - your workers need protection against a wide range of chemical hazards and the products themselves have to be protected against contamination. Despite the seemingly endless rules and regulations, effective health and safety can be simple to implement and simpler to manage. In reality, it is the implementation of effective, sensible polices which has contributed to Great Britain having the lowest fatal injury rate in Europe.1

The important thing is to recognise what is important and relevant to your business and what can be disregarded.

On a European scale, according to EU OSHA (the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work), 16% of European workers handle hazardous products.2 It has been estimated that some 32 million European workers are exposed to unsafe levels of chemical exposure.3 Exposure to hazardous chemicals can result in cancer, brain damage, harm to the nervous system, asthma and skin problems such as dermatitis or allergies. The toxicity of certain chemicals can also affect the ability to reproduce or cause birth defects. The harm done by dangerous substances can occur from a single short exposure or by the long-term accumulation of substances in the body. Adequate skin protection against liquid chemicals can help to avoid the local effects engendered by an accidental chemical splash, as well as the ensuing systemic or acute effects.

After risk assessment, EU legislation advocates the elimination or substitution of hazardous or dangerous situations. If elimination or substitution are not possible, then all necessary steps should be taken to protect workers from the hazards by introducing measures such as personal protective equipment, and where possible at collective level.

The current Council Directives 98/24/EC and 90/394/EEC on chemical agents and carcinogens concern all European industries. Recently voted by the European Parliament, the new REACH legislation and authorisation system gives greater responsibility to industry to manage the risks from chemicals and to provide safety information on the substances produced. Authorisation will be required of producers for substances belonging to specific groups: CMRs category 1 and 2 (carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction), PBTs (persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic), vPvBs (very persistent and very bio-accumulative) and other substances identified as causing serious and irreversible effects on humans and the environment.

The additional information available to the industry will most likely result in many companies re-examining their safety procedures in order to protect their workers from the risk of accidental or sustained exposure to chemicals.

There are several products on the market now that have been devised specifically in response to EU regulation on the protection of workers from chemical substances. These may extend to full body protection with protective coveralls or it may be that quality gloves will suffice.

With enhanced safety data sheets about the chemicals which pose a hazard to workers, selecting the safest, best performing glove for a job has become more important than ever before, and this applies to virtually all industries. The performance of chemical protective gloves and clothing depends on the type of material, thickness, size, length, the extent of chemical permeation, penetration and degradation.

Gloves for use with chemicals will carry a CE mark, a chemical protection sign and the relevant European Standard Number. No protection can be assumed for any chemical other than the ones mentioned by the manufacturer. It should be worn for no longer than the claimed chemical resistance and should be immediately disposed of in a chemical waste container provided for this purpose.

Ansell has been supplying barrier protective gloves to the industry for more than twenty years. In that time we have gained an in-depth knowledge of the industry and keep a close track on important technical advances and legislative changes.

For example, where there is a risk from chemical splashes in the workplace, protective glove qualities to look for include 100% nitrile composition which is highly recommended against the aliphatic hydrocarbons present in lubricants. Ansell have invested heavily in the development of alternative products and manufacturing techniques to reduce the allergenic potential of our gloves for the wearer and nitrile effectively eliminates the risk of allergies to latex proteins (Type I) and has shown no evidence of risk from irritation or Type IV allergies.

Puncture resistance is also vital, as is a flexible, comfortable and easy to don glove. With a single use glove, workers get a clean, never-worn glove each time they need to mix chemicals. All these qualities have been addressed by Ansell’s new Touch N Tuff gloves, developed in response to EU regulation on the protection of workers from chemical substances.

Although it may seem very simplistic, it is crucial that the gloves are fitted and removed properly. If the inner surface of a glove becomes contaminated it will not matter how much care has gone into the selection process, exposure will occur and, if in direct contact with the skin under the glove, will possibly cause greater exposure than if a glove had not been worn at all.

Another, perhaps not so obvious potential workforce concern in the scientific and laboratory sector is muscular strain and stress. According to the US Centre for Disease Control, there is evidence of a positive association between forceful work and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. The reduced necessity for exertion provided by an improved grip results in greater object control, comfort, safety and productivity, and can contribute to preventing the onset of occupational injuries such as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS), tendonitis, De Quervain’s disease and tenosynovitis.

This improved grip can also be provided by the correct gloves, such as the chemical-resistant glove which incorporates Grip Technology from Ansell. The glove’s unique combination of grip and chemical resistance together with flexibility and dexterity make it the logical choice when dealing with chemicals and handling slippery objects, a performance which is particularly marked when grasping heavier objects (4-5 kilos and up). It integrates microscopic channels in a patented ultra-thin nitrile layer, directing fluids away from the grip surface, thus leaving a significant contact area dry with almost the same grip as under fluid-free conditions.

The selection of protective gloves must be part of an overall health and safety risk assessment for the job to be done. For this assessment to be fully effective, the laboratory manager must be completely up to date with regulations that govern their place of work. The solutions to laboratory workforce safety concerns are out there - it just requires a little time and effort to identify them.

References 1 Health and Safety Executive.

2 European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Fact No. 33, "An introduction to dangerous substances in the Workplace", 2003

3 Kaupinnen, T. et al., "Occupational exposure to carcinogens in the European Union", Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland, Occup Environ Med. 2000 Jan;57(1):10-8.

Author

David Staniforth, Director, End-User Consulting Services, joined Ansell in 1995.  In the last two years his work developing Ansell’s consulting services has taken him to all corners of the globe.  He will be holding a free seminar on “Trends in Hand and Arm Protection Solutions” at Health & Safety ’07, a new event at Sandown Park Racecourse, 20/21st February.