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Standard EN374

Gloves Providing Protection from Chemicals and Mico Organisms

This standard explains the capability of a glove to protect the user against chemicals and/or micro-organisms. There are 3 pictograms which relate to this EN standard:

Determination of Resistance to Water Penetration
Determination of Resistance to Water Penetration

This measures glove quality, gloves must pass this test in order to prove that they provide an effective barrier against liquids and microorganisms. This tests for leakages, pin holes or other imperfections in the glove material. Gloves are graded according to the acceptable quality levels (AQL) of the gloves and must meet the minimum of AQL level 2 to carry this pictogram.

This is measured in ascending order from level 1-3:

  • Level 1 – AQL 4.0
  • Level 2 – AQL 1.5
  • Level 3 – AQL 0.65
Determination of Resistance to Permeation by Chemicals
Determination of Resistance to Permeation by Chemicals

This measures the time it takes for a chemical to break through the glove material. Multiple samples from the palm of the tested glove have chemicals placed onto the surface of the sample. The time it takes for the chemical to pass through to the inside of the sample is known as the breakthrough time. This is then graded from level 0-6:

Measured Breakthrough TimePerformance Level
> 10 minutesLevel 1
> 30 minutesLevel 2
> 60 minutesLevel 3
> 120 minutesLevel 4
> 240 minutesLevel 5
> 480 minutesLevel 6

Gloves need to have a breakthrough time of at least 30 minutes for 3 out of 12 standard defined chemicals to carry this pictogram. Chemicals are identified by the letters below:

CodeChemicalCAS Number*Class
AMethanol67-56-1Primary Alcohol
BAcetone 67-64-1-1Ketone
CAcetonitrile 75-05-08Nitrile Compound
DDichloromethane 75-09-2Chlorinated Paraffin
ECarbon Disulfide 75-15-0Sulphur containing Organic compound
FToluen 108-88-3Aromatic Hydrocarbon
GDiethylamine 109-89-7 Amine
HTetrahydrofurane 109-99-9 Heterocyclic and Ether compount
IEthyl Acetate 141-78-6 Ether
Jn-Heptan 142-85-5 Saturated Hydrocarbon
KSodium Hydroxide 40% 1310-73-2Inorganic Base
LSulphuric Acid 96% 7664-93-9Inorganic Mineral Acid

*CAS Number is a unique numerical identifier assigned by Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) to every chemical substance.

Text And Image Content
Low Chemical Resistance

Gloves that have passed the initial penetration test, but have not achieved a breakthrough time of at least 30 minutes for a minimum of 3 of the standard defined chemicals will show this pictogram. This is also known as the waterproof glove pictogram.