Investigation of natural latex rubber gloves.

摘要

Seventy five percent of natural latex rubber gloves used in laboratories at the Savannah River Site are not reused. A cost analysis performed by the SRS Procurement Department determined that a net savings of $1,092,210 could be achieved annually by recycling latex rubber gloves. The Materials Technology Section, at the request of the Procurement Department, examined some mechanical and chemical properties of latex rubber gloves manufactured by Ansell Edmont, which had been purchased by the site specifications for protective clothing. It also examined mechanical properties of re-cycled gloves purchased by specifications and of (open quotes)off the shelf(close quotes) gloves manufactured by North Brothers Company. Finally, water vapor transmission studies, simulating tritium permeation, were performed on gloves from both manufacturers. These studies were performed to determine whether latex rubber gloves can be recycled or whether using only new, unwashed gloves is required in areas where tritium exposure is a possibility. The results of these studies indicate that the acceptable glove characteristics, required in the WSRC Manual 5Q1.11, Protective Clothing Specifications, are not adversely affected after washing and drying the gloves manufactured by Ansell Edmont for seven cycles. Results also indicate that natural latex rubber gloves manufactured by North Brothers comply with most of the acceptable glove characteristics specified in the WSRC Manual 5Q1.11. Statistical analysis of the water vapor permeation data show that there is no correlation between permeation rates and the manufacturer. (ERA citation 18:036675)