Abstract

In various industries, workers use protective gloves to handle mixtures of solvents. Although data exist on the resistance of different materials to pure solvents, the resistance of gloves to solvent mixtures has not been extensively documented. Here, the IRSST- INRS team presents a study of the permeation of mixtures of two or three solvents through neoprene, nitrile and butyl membranes. The researchers observed that solvent-solvent interaction affects the diffusion of the mixture through the membrane. A glove will therefore be less resistant to a mixture producing a repulsion between the solvents (endothermic) than to each of the solvents that make it up. Based on their observations, the authors propose a thermodynamic model that predicts the behaviour of solvent mixtures. This model will be integrated into Gantex software, also presented in the report. Once its databank has been developed, this software will enable occupational health and safety professionals to choose the best gloves for handling a given solvent or a mixture of solvents.