Safety Glove Standards Explained

Why are Glove Standards Important?

The development and maintenance of the highest hand protection standards is crucial to workplace health and safety.

The International Organisation for Standardisation (IOS) and the Australian/New Zealand Standards (AS/NZS) are used to help classify specific product attributes and communicate protection levels of personal protection equipment (PPE). The purpose of these standards is to assist managers and employees in the implementation and maintenance of workplace safety levels.

Understanding EN Standards:

The elimination of health and safety hazards within the workplace is mandated by government legislation. In instances where these hazards cannot be eliminated, employers and employees are responsible for reducing hazards as much as is reasonably possible. It is because of this that the Australian government has implemented a number of identical standards to those used in Europe. Many countries across the Asia-Pacific region have now adopted the established European Union (EN) standards for their own use.

Although the requirements for Australian standards and EN standards are similar, the two standards use different testing methodologies.

Below is a guide of all the pictograms used on different safety gloves to represent the various EN standards.

If you or your workers are required to wear safety gloves, it is crucial to know EN standards as it tells you which glove works best for which application. It is also is important to understand the codes and symbols that are used in the standards as these are used to specify different protection levels. Each requirement is represented by a pictogram (as shown above) and a number that is stamped on the glove. The higher this number is, the higher the level of protection the glove provides. These numbers are awarded as a result of specific tests for certain attributes.

These test results should not be interpreted as meaning the glove is definitely suitable or not for a specific application. To determine if a glove is fit for purpose, practical trials are recommended. Testing and evaluation is critical to any risk assessment process when selecting safety gloves.

The three risk categories under EN standards:

The PPE directive (which is regulation for PPE) 89/686/EEC specifics two classes of glove meeting two levels of risk: ‘minimal’ and ‘mortal’/‘irreversible’ risk. A risk that falls within these two categories can be defined as ‘intermediate’. A system of marking has been developed under the EN standards to identify the level of risk to help in the selection of gloves of the appropriate class.

Risk Category I: Gloves of Simple Design for Minimal Risk Only

This category is for gloves that have a simple design, offering protection from low levels of risk. Manufacturers are able to test and certify these gloves internally as there is no requirement for testing and certification of these gloves by an independent body.

An example of this would be gloves for janitorial use.

Risk Category II: Gloves of Intermediate Design for Intermediate Risk

These gloves are designed to provide protection against intermediate risk. Gloves in this category must undergo independent testing and certification by a notified body. Only approved gloves may be issued with a CE mark (as shown below), enabling the gloves to be sold. If gloves do not receive this mark, they cannot be sold.

The instructions for use of the gloves will specify the name and address of the notified body that certified the product. Each notified body has its own identification mark.

An example of this category would be gloves requiring good cut, puncture and abrasion performance.

Risk Category III: Gloves of Complex Design for Irreversible or Mortal Risk

Gloves within this category are designed to protect the user against the highest levels of risk. These gloves must be tested and certified by a notified body. As well as this, the quality assurance system used by the manufacturer to guarantee consistency throughout production must be independently checked. The notified body performing the evaluation will be identified by their number which must appear next to the CE mark on the gloves (as shown below).

Gloves providing protection against chemicals would be an example of this risk category.

EN Glove Standards

EN420 (AS/NZS 2161.2:1998)

General Requirements for Protective Gloves

This standard outlines general requirements that enable a safety glove to be sold. These requirements include glove design and construction, comfort and efficiency, innocuousness (must not cause any harm to the user), as well as the marking and information relevant to all protective gloves.

EN374 (AS/NZS 2161.10:2005)

Gloves Giving Protection from Chemicals and Micro-Organisms

This standard outlines the capability of gloves to protect the user against chemicals and/or micro-organisms. The below pictogram is used to represent this standard and it must be accompanied by a minimum three digit code.

This code refers to the letter that is used to represent that chemical (from a list of 18 standard defined chemicals), for which a breakthrough time of at least 30 minutes must be achieved. If the pictogram is not accompanied by this code it means it can only withstand 1 chemical for only a short period of time.

The micro-organism pictogram shown to the left is used when the glove conforms to at least a performance level 2 for the penetration test. The specific micro-organism that the glove provides protection against (if any) will be listed below the biohazard symbol shown below.

EN388 (AS/NZS 2161.3:2020)

Gloves Giving Protection from Mechanical Risks

This standard is used for protective gloves in regards to physical and mechanical aggression caused by abrasion, blade cut, puncture, tearing, straight blade cut and impact protection. Protection against mechanical hazards is expressed on the glove by this pictogram. This pictogram should then be followed by five numbers relating to performance levels, with each number representing the test performed against a specific hazard. It will also include an indication of pass, fail or not tested for impact resistance

The letters for each test are:

A = Abrasion Resistance

B = Blade Cut Resistance (Coupe Test)

C = Tear Resistance

D = Puncture Resistance

E = Straight Blade Cut Resistance (TDM)

F = Impact Protection

EN407 (AS/NZS 2161.4:1999)

Gloves Giving Protection from Heat

This standard applies to gloves for thermal performance or protection against heat and/or fire. This is expressed using the below pictogram. Below the pictogram will be a series of 6 digits (relating to performance levels) which represent specific protective qualities.

The letters for protective quality are:

A = Flammability Resistance

B = Contact Heat Resistance

C = Convective Heat Resistance

D = Radiant Heat Resistance

E = Resistance to Small Splashes of Molten Metal

EN421 (AS/NZS 2161.1:2005)

EN421 is a European Standard that is also utilised in Australia to specify the test methods and requirements for gloves that claim to provide protection against ionising radiation and radioactive contamination. EN421 PPE glove standards apply to gloves that provide protection for arms and shoulders as well as hands, including those that are mounted in permanent containment enclosures, or intermediary sleeves used between gloves and permanent containment enclosures. It should be noted, the requirements of this standard don’t apply to protective gloves against x-ray radiation.

There are different pictograms relating to the glove’s specific protective qualities. These pictograms are used on the gloves to show the nature of the protection the glove provides.

Gloves that pass the tests for protection from radioactive contamination (also known as radiation gloves) use this pictogram.

This pictogram is used on gloves that pass the tests for protection from ionising radiation.

EN511 (AS/NZS 2161.5:1998)

Gloves Giving Protection from Cold

EN511 is a European glove standard that is utilised in Australia to measure how well a glove can withstand cold temperatures. It is just as important to protect your hands from cold burns in cold environments as it is to protect your hands from extreme heat. This goes beyond just finding work gloves that keep hands warm, but rather finding gloves that will protect hands from being harmed in cold environments. EN511 PPE glove standards only apply to gloves that provide protection to a user’s hands against convective and contact cold down to temperatures of - 50°C.

The testing criteria for protection from cold includes the following:

A = Resistance to convective cold (Performance level 0-4)

B = Resistance to contact cold (Performance level 0-4)

C = Permeability by water (Level 0 or 1)

For more detailed information on each glove standard, follow the links to their own blog posts or check out our range of blogs on hand protection.

You can also view our range of hand protection here

If you have further questions or need assistance with hand protection, contact the experts at ATOM Safety.

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