Whole glove permeation of cyclohexanol through disposable nitrile gloves on a dextrous robot hand: Fist clenching vs. non-clenching

ABSTRACT

The differences in permeation parameters when a gloved dextrous robot hand clenched and did not were investigated with the dynamic permeation system described in the companion paper. Increased permeation through the gloves of the present study for cyclohexanol when the gloved hand clenched depended on glove thickness and porosity for cyclohexanol permeation. The Sterling glove, the thinnest and most porous, was the least protective. Hand clenching promoted more permeation for the Sterling glove in terms of breakthrough times, steady state permeation rate, and diffusion coefficient. The Safeskin glove showed increased permeation only for the steady state permeation rate but not breakthrough times or diffusion coefficient. The Blue and Purple gloves showed no differences when the hand was clenching or not. The correlational analysis supported differences between the clenching and non-clenching situations, and the risk assessment considered the worst and best scenarios relative to one and two hydrated hands that were and were not protected by specific gloves.

KEYWORDS:

• Clenching
• cyclohexanol
• dextrous robot hand
• glove permeation
• nitrile gloves

Funding

Funding was provided by NIOSH/CDC RO1 OH009250 and the UCLA Center for Occupational and Environmental Health.