An improved experimental methodology to evaluate the effectiveness of protective gloves against nanoparticles in suspension

ABSTRACT

Recent studies underline the potential health risks associated to the “nano” revolution, particularly for the workers who handle engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) that can be found in the formulation of several commercial products. Although many Health & Safety agencies recommend the use of protective gloves against chemicals, few studies have investigated the effectiveness of these gloves towards nanoparticle suspensions. Moreover, the data that are available are often contradictory. This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of protective gloves against nanoparticles in suspension. For this purpose, a new methodology was developed in order to take into account parameters encountered in the workplace such as mechanical deformations (MD) that simulate hand flexion and sweat. The effects of the precise experimental protocol on the concentrations of nanoparticles that were detected in the sampling suspension were assessed. Several samples of nitrile rubber gloves (73 µm thick), taken from different boxes, were brought into contact with gold nanoparticles (5 nm) in water. During their exposure to ENPs, the glove samples submitted systematic mechanical deformations and were placed in contact with a physiological solution simulating human sweat. Under these conditions, results obtained by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) showed that the 5 nm gold nanoparticles passed through the protective gloves. This result was acquired, in spite of the observation of significant losses during the sampling phase that will be important for future experiments evaluating the effectiveness of these materials.

KEYWORDS:

• Gold nanoparticle suspension
• human sweat
• mechanical deformations
• nitrile rubber glove effectiveness
• work conditions

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the technical contributions of Aoued Belhadj and Nidal Boutrigue (École de Technologie Supérieure) and Laura Lemarchand and Madjid Hadioui (Université de Montréal).

Funding

This research was supported by the Institut Robert-Sauvé de recherche en santé et sécurité du travail (IRSST) and Prima Québec.