PROTECTIVE CLOTHING & WORKWEAR A FIRM GRIP ON SAFETY


Martin Heels, Head of Chemistry at SATRA, tells you everything you need to know about the new EN ISO 21420:2020 Protective Gloves Standard.


EN ISO 21420:2020 Protective Gloves – General Requirements and Test Methods is the new general requirements standard for protective gloves. This standard has superseded EN 420:2003+A1:2009 and been adopted by ISO to become a worldwide standard. Its scope includes protective gloves, arm protectors, gloves permanently incorporated in containment enclosures, mittens and pot holders.


The requirements of this standard need to be satisfied for all protective gloves for all categories of PPE and notified bodies will require test reports for category II and III protective gloves. Under the PPE Regulation, products must be ‘state-of-the-art’, hence the protective gloves will need to be in accordance with the latest requirements standards. Therefore, once this new standard is harmonised, all protective gloves placed on the market in the EU will need to be assessed against EN ISO 21420:2020.


REQUIREMENTS Some of the key requirements listed under its


remit are glove design and construction, chemical innocuousness, comfort and efficiency (sizing and dexterity) and information supplied by the manufacturer. It does not assess the protective properties of gloves and should therefore be used alongside any relevant specific requirement standards; i.e. EN 388:2016+A1:2018 for gloves providing mechanical protection and EN ISO 374-1:2016+A01:2018 for gloves providing protection from chemicals.


GLOVE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION Clause 4.1 describes that the protective gloves must


not impair performance of the activity, whilst providing adequate protection from risk.


A new consideration under this standard is when you are donning and doffing protective gloves, layers of reusable multi-layered gloves should not be separated, and the design of the gloves should minimise donning and doffing time.


INNOCUOUSNESS Chemical innocuousness is described by the protective


gloves not adversely affecting the health or hygiene of the user. The materials present in the gloves shall not, under foreseeable conditions of normal use, release substances generally known to be toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic, allergenic, toxic to reproduction, corrosive, sensitising or irritating This is outlined in clause 4.2 of the standard.


Restricted substances include:


Chromium VI - applicable to all leathers, requirement: less than 3 mg/kg.


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Nickel release - applicable to metallic components in prolonged contact with skin, requirement: less than 0.5µg/cm²/week.


pH value - applicable to all materials, requirement: pH value shall be greater than 3.5 and less than 9.5. Leathers and textiles are to be tested separately.


Azo colourants - applicable to dyed leathers and textiles in contact with the skin, requirement: less than 30 mg/kg for each of the aromatic amines.


Dimethylformamide (DMFa)- applicable to all materials containing PU, requirement: less than 1000 mg/kg (1% w/w).


Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs): applicable to rubbers and plastics in direct contact with the skin, requirement: less than 1mg/kg of each of the eight restricted PAHs.


ELECTROSTATIC PROPERTIES The additional requirements outlined in clause 4.4.1 are


relevant for all protective gloves intended to be worn in areas that present explosive or flammable risks. In this instance, if they are claimed then electrostatic properties must be tested in accordance with


ISO/IEC 16350:2015. Where necessary, EN 1149 parts 1:2006 or 3:2004 should be used to determine further electrostatic properties of the gloves. This is relevant to determining further additional requirements of surface electrostatic properties or charge decay.


COMFORT AND EFFICIENCY Clause 5 of the standard outlines the requirements


for sizing and dexterity of gloves. Dexterity is defined as the manipulative ability to perform a task with the hands.


Sizing is defined based on the hand sizes that gloves are intended to fit. Under this standard the sizes outlined cover the range of size four to size 13. The criteria assessed to determine sizing compliance include hand circumference and hand length (distance from wrist to the tip of the middle finger).


Minimum glove length can be defined and measured if required for a specific use (for example welder’s gloves or firefighter’s gloves). This is not specified under general requirements for gloves. In addition to this, different sizing systems can be used, if they are explained in the terms of EN ISO 21420:2020. This information would need to be outlined in the user information sheet provided with the protective gloves.


Glove dexterity is determined by multiple factors including thickness of glove material and elasticity. When assessing glove dexterity, four gloves are tested.


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