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Australia / New Zealand Protective Glove Standards
Overview
To ensure the improved hand and safety in the workplace, The Australian/NZ Glove Standards have been developed based on the European Standards.
AS/NZS 2161 consists of:
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AS/NZS 2161.2:1998, Occupational protective gloves Part 2: General Requirement (EN 420:1994)
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AS/NZS 2161.3:1998, Occupational protective gloves Part 3: Protection against mechanical risks (EN 388:1994)
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AS/NZS 2161.5:1998, Occupational protective gloves Part 5: Protection against cold (EN 511:1994)
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AS/NZS 2161.10.3:2005, Occupational protective gloves Part 10: Determination of resistance to permeation by chemicals (EN 374-3:2003)
Some of the hazards according to the European and Aust/NZ Standards are pictured below:
AS/NZS 2161.2:1998 (EN 420:1994) General Requirements
Defines the requirements for glove construction, innocuousness, ergonomy, high visibility, cleaning, comfort and efficiency, marking and information applicable to all protective gloves. The Standard requires that:
General requirements:
- The gloves will not affect the hygiene and health of the user.
- Glove is designed and constructed suitably for its intended use.
- Any lines of stitching present in the construction (cotton, leather, etc) do not significantly decrease the product performance.
Sizing
- Minimum glove lengths need to be specified for each size.
- Glove sizing follows the set specifications in respect to hand circumference.
Product and Packaging Labelling (Marking)
- Basic instructions included.
- Trade mark or other identification of manufacturer, product code name and size must be generally marked on the gloves.
- Additional information such as pictograms showing performance levels against Standards and where information about the product can be obtained should be available on the packaging.
AS/NZS 2161.3:1998 (EN388:1994) Protection Against Mechanical Risk
This standard applies to every kind of protective gloves with regards to physical and mechanical aggressions caused by blade cut, abrasion, tear and puncture. This standard also applies to determine the anti-static nature of the product and the impact cut resistance of the safety gloves.
Four basic tests that define this standard:
Puncture resistance: To determine the amount of force needed to puncture the palm surface of the glove with a calibrated spike.
Tear resistance: To determine the amount of force needed to enlarge, by tearing a precut hole to the glove’s material.
Blade cut resistance: To determine how well the material can resist cutting objects.
Abrasion resistance: To determine how well the material can resist repeated abrasion.
As depicted from the table below, the protective gloves are tested for each factors and reported as performance ratings. The higher the rating, the better the gloves perform in regards to each property.
AS/NZS 2161.5:1998 (EN 511:1994) Protection Against Cold
This standard dictates the test methods and requirements for gloves for protection against conductive or convective cold down to -50C.
The compulsory tests are:
Water impermeability: To determine if water will seep through the gloves when used
Flexibility behaviour: To determine if the glove will crack when used in the cold
Cold resistance: To determine how well can the gloves resist the cold
Convective cold: To determine how well do the gloves insulate the wearer from cold
Contact cold: To determine how well does the palm surface of the gloves insulate the wearer from cold
AS/NZS 2161.10.3:2005 (EN 374-3:2003) Determination of resistance to permeation by chemicals
The resistance to permeation test is conducted by measuring the time for a chemical to penetrate the glove material. Samples cut from the palms surface of the gloves are placed in a permeation cell which enables the chemical to be placed in contact with outer surface of the gloves. Samples of any chemical that has penetrated to the inside surface of the glove are collected through the air and water that was passed through the cell.
The “chemical resistant” pictogram must come with a 3 digit code. This code refers to the code letters of the 12 standard defined chemicals, in which at least a 30 minutes penetration time has been obtained.
To view all of our AS/NZS Compliant Safety Gloves range, please click here.
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