Glove performance in a warming climate: The role of glove material and climate on permeation resistance to organophosphate insecticides

Abstract

Hands and forearms are the principal sites of dermal exposure to organophosphate insecticides, which makes glove use one of the most important components of an exposure control strategy. However, the selection of suitable gloves depends on issues such as task, type, and concentration of organophosphate as well as cost. In addition, chemical protection performance of gloves may be temperature dependent, which is of increasing concern in a warming climate. Two recommended reusable glove materials (polyvinylchloride and nitrile butadiene rubber) and one single-use glove (nitrile/neoprene) were tested for permeation resistance to actual formulations of organophosphate insecticides with active ingredients dimethoate and malathion. Chemical resistance parameters were measured using American society for testing and materials permeation test cells and compared across glove, organophosphate type, and temperature. The three gloves demonstrated comparable and adequate chemical resistance (less than one µg cm−2 min−1 for up to 8 hr exposure; 25–60 °C) for dilute forms of dimethoate and malathion, used during spraying activities. However, the single-use nitrile/neoprene glove is not designed to fully cover the elbow which limits its suitability. In permeation tests that reflect “worst case” exposure scenario to concentrated (neat) organophosphate formulations, as in mixing/loading tasks, a significant variation in chemical resistance between gloves was observed. While polyvinylchloride offered the maximum resistance, physical degradation of nitrile butadiene rubber after 3 hr of continuous exposure makes it unsuitable for handling neat dimethoate. The single-use nitrile/neoprene glove material had considerably poorer permeation resistance (up to 155-fold greater permeation and 6-fold shorter breakthrough) against neat formulations. Overall, elevated temperature (>40 °C) was shown to result in significantly greater (P < 0.05) cumulative permeation of neat formulation insecticides. This work demonstrates the variation in glove performance and potential for greater exposure risk particularly when mixing concentrated pesticides at elevated temperature conditions such as an occluded human skin or hot greenhouses. Training and guidance on testing, selection, use, and storage of gloves should consider in-use exposure scenarios and temperature-induced reduction in chemical protective performance.