Hand protection refers to specialized personal protective equipment (PPE) designed to safeguard hands from various workplace hazards. At its core, Hand protection is designed to guard against a wide range of hazards.
Understanding Hand Protection
In many work environments, hands are constantly exposed to potential dangers that can cause injuries ranging from minor cuts to severe burns or chemical damage. Hand protection plays a crucial role in preventing these incidents, maintaining worker safety, and reducing the risk of long-term health issues like dermatitis.
What Hazards Does Hand Protection Address?
Based on its design purpose, hand protection is explicitly designed to guard against a wide range of hazards, including:
- Cuts and abrasions: Protection against sharp edges, blades, rough surfaces, or impacts that could break the skin. Examples include handling sheet metal, glass, or using knives.
- Extreme temperatures: Shielding hands from very hot objects or materials (thermal burns) or extremely cold environments (frostbite or cold stress). This is vital when working with hot liquids, steam, cryogenic substances, or in freezing conditions.
- Skin irritation and dermatitis: Preventing contact with substances that can cause redness, itching, swelling, or other inflammatory reactions on the skin. This often involves exposure to cleaning agents, oils, or other mild irritants.
- Contact with toxic or corrosive substances: Providing a barrier against chemicals that can poison the body through skin absorption or cause severe burns and tissue damage upon contact. This includes handling strong acids, bases, solvents, or hazardous chemicals.
Types of Hand Protection by Hazard
Different types of hand protection are available, each tailored to protect against specific hazards:
- Cut-resistant gloves: Made from materials like Kevlar, Dyneema, or steel mesh.
- Thermal gloves: Insulated gloves for cold; heat-resistant gloves made from materials like aramid fibers for hot conditions.
- Chemical-resistant gloves: Made from materials like nitrile, neoprene, PVC, or butyl rubber, selected based on the specific chemicals being handled.
- Barrier creams: While not physical protection, they can sometimes help protect against mild irritants or make skin easier to clean, though they are not a substitute for gloves against significant hazards.
Choosing the correct type of hand protection is essential for effective defense against the specific risks present in a given task or environment.
