EN 374: A Quick Guide to Protective Gloves For Dangerous Chemicals and Micro-Organisms
Chemicals can be extremely dangerous for both personal health and the environment. For this reason, all people working in laboratories, manufacturing, cleaning, oil & gas, and all other industries requiring the use of chemicals must wear appropriate PPE. This of course includes protective gloves, as your hands are one the highest risk areas given the need for handling. However, chemicals and dangerous substances are very different one another, so how can you be sure about the type of gloves you need? Today we will answer this question by explaining how EN 374 – the standard for Protective Gloves Against Dangerous Chemicals and Micro-Organisms – works. Keep reading to find out all you need to know.
EN 374: 2016
The new EN 374 standard became active in 2016 and replaced the old EN 374:2003. This standard consists of different parts and tests resistance to penetration, permeation, degradation by chemicals and performance requirements for micro-organisms risks.
Penetration
Gloves undergo an air-leak test and a water-leak test to test their resistance to air and liquids penetration through pores, seams, or pinholes.
Permeation
In order to comply with the EN 374 standard and be assigned a rating for their resistance to permeation, gloves must undergo a series of tests. Gloves are tested against their resistance to 18 chemicals, each corresponding to a letter code as follows:
| Code letter | Chemical | CAS Number | Class |
| A | Methanol | 67-56-1 | Primary alcohol |
| B | Acetone | 67-64-1 | Ketone |
| C | Acetonitrile | 75-05-8 | Nitrile compound |
| D | Dichloromethane | 75-09-2 | Chlorinated hydrocarbon |
| E | Carbon disulphide | 75-15-0 | Sulphur containing organic compound |
| F | Toluene | 108-88-3 | Aromatic hydrocarbon |
| G | Diethylamine | 109-89-7 | Amine |
| H | Tetrahydrofuran | 109-99-9 | Heterocyclic and ether compound |
| I | Ethyl acetate | 141-78-6 | Ester |
| J | n-Heptane | 142-82-5 | Saturated hydrocarbon |
| K | Sodium hydroxide 40% | 1310-73-2 | Inorganic base |
| L | Sulphuric acid 96% | 7664-93-9 | Inorganic mineral acid, oxidising |
| M | Nitric acid 65% | 7697-37-2 | Inorganic mineral acid, oxidising |
| N | Acetic acid 99% | 64-19-7 | Organic acid |
| O | Ammonium hydroxide 25% | 1336-21-6 | Organic base |
| P | Hydrogen peroxide 30% | 7722-84-1 | Peroxide |
| S | Hydrofluoric acid 40% | 7664-39-3 | Inorganic mineral acid |
| T | Formaldehyde 37% | 50-00-0 | Aldehyde |
Depending on the number of chemicals gloves provide protection from, they are then classified into three categories:
Type A – gloves provide protection against minimum 6 test chemicals for at least 30 minutes (level 2) [d1]
Type B – gloves provide protection against minimum 3 test chemicals for at least 30 minutes (level 2)
Type C – gloves provide protection against minimum 1 test chemical for at least 10 minutes (level 1)
Once gloves are tested, both letters and type are written near the beaker symbol for permeation resistance. This is an example:
Degradation
The degradation test introduced in 2016 records the detrimental changes happening in the gloves’ physical properties after exposure to a specific type of chemical. Changes can include cracking, swelling, brittleness and shrinkage. This test must be repeated for each of the chemicals which the gloves are claimed to provide protection against.
Micro-organisms
When it comes to micro-organisms, the EN 374 standard classifies gloves into two categories:
• Protection against bacteria and fungi.
• Protection against bacteria, fungi, and viruses.
The gloves providing protection against micro-organisms are marked with the following symbol:
Now that you know how the EN 374 standard works, browse our selection of high-quality Chemical-resistant Gloves to find the best option for your needs!
