Advanced Chemical Protection Gloves

Phil Black - PII Editor 12/11/2009

430 2 minutes read

Listen to this article

Chemical-Resistant Gloves / Chemical Protection Gloves

A global leader in barrier protective solutions, announces the launch of the AlphaTec®58-270, a new chemical-resistant glove, designed as a liquid-proof glove requiring less force to grip oily parts. The enhanced grip reduces fatigue and offers superior dexterity. The AlphaTec®58-270 is recommended for light handling applications in environments with potential chemical hazards, including the chemical industry, oil refineries and production, automotive and OEM markets, maintenance, metal, machinery & equipment and building & construction. AlphaTec®58-270 is a lighter version of the AlphaTec® 58-530 and 58-535 gloves which are recommended for medium to high duty chemical applications.

Better skin protection
Many solvents, mastics, oils and other chemicals can cause skin irritation and allergy. Next to substituting these by products that do not cause dermatitis, avoiding skin contact by using gloves is an efficient mean to protect workers’ skin. Up to now, workers handling harmful chemicals or oily parts had no 100% satisfactory choice protecting their skin from dermal damage and offering optimal comfort and dexterity at the same time. The new AlphaTec®58-270 provides the best combination of comfort, precise handling, industry leading grip and skin protection, anywhere chemicals including oils are present.

AlphaTec®58-270 gloves keep the worker’s hands clean and prevent dermatitis by protecting the skin from harmful contact with oils, chemicals and other liquids. AlphaTec® 58-270 is recommended for light to medium applications while the existing AlphaTec® 58-530 and 58-535 are more for medium to high duty chemical applications.

Longer wear life allows multitasking and improves productivity
AlphaTec® 58-270 can be used across a broad range of oily or dirty activities, allowing multitasking and therefore improved productivity: wearers do not lose time changing gloves. Because oil does not penetrate or degrade the coating, the AlphaTec® 58-270 lasts longer and consequently reduces costs. Another main advantage of the new glove is its thin, double-wall nitrile shell offering users an excellent tactility and flexibility. The glove’s lightness results in better comfort than any chemical-resistant glove.

Industry leading grip technology
One of the major annoyances, users are facing when handling wet or oil-coated objects in industrial environments is the lack of grip, reducing comfort and causing increased stress and fatigue. Designed as a glove that requires less force to grip oily parts, the AlphaTec®58-270 incorporates the Ansell Grip Technology™. This innovative “wet grip” technology allows workers to regain a safe hold on slipping objects while applying minimal extra force. Ansell Grip Technology™ actively repels oils and other lubricants away from the pressure surface via microscopic channels in the coating. The result is a significant contact area that remains dry and possesses almost the same grip as under fluid free conditions. The grip technology was already integrated in the very successful and highly appreciated HyFlex® 11-920 and AlphaTec® 58-530/58-535 gloves.

The technology’s efficiency was extensively tested in both laboratory conditions and live studies which demonstrate that the grip needed to hold a slippery object is significantly lower for gloves incorporating Grip Technology than for regular gloves. Tests performed by Professor Alan Wing of the University of Birmingham’s Sensory Motor Neuroscience Laboratory confirm that gloves integrating the Grip Technology indicate a notable decrease in grip force used to lift weights under oily, low friction conditions. The reduction in grip force is linked to a markedly reduced activity in the finger flexor muscles when lifting and gripping.

This effect is also positive for workers suffering from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS), or median neuropathy at the wrist, the medical condition in which the median hand nerve is compressed at the wrist which is leading to numbness and muscle weakness in the hand. CTS is the second-most prevalent musculoskeletal disorder after sprains and strains and a major component of the cost of work-related illness and absence in Europe.