Chemical Degradation (ISO 374-4)

The EN 374-4 standard, which is a European standard, describes the physical properties and test methods of protective gloves against dangerous chemicals and microorganisms. This standard was later published by the International Standards Organization (ISO) as the ISO 374-4 standard. In our country, it has been published by the Turkish Standards Institute (TSE) with the following title: TS EN ISO 374-4 Protective gloves against dangerous chemicals and microorganisms - Part 4: Determination of the resistance of chemicals against degradation.

The ISO 374 standard, which covers these protective gloves, consists of four parts:

• TS EN ISO 374-1 Part 1: Terms and performance rules for chemical risks
• TS EN ISO 374-2 Part 2: Determination of resistance to penetration
• TS EN ISO 374-4 Part 4: Determination of the resistance of chemicals against degradation
• TS EN ISO 374-5 Part 5: Terms and performance rules for microorganism risks

The ISO 374-4 standard describes a test method for determining the resistance of protective glove materials to degradation by hazardous chemicals in constant contact.

If chemical tests do not provide sufficient information about physical property changes affecting a glove during exposure to a chemical agent, other tests used in addition to the assessment of chemical resistance, such as penetration and permeability resistance, should be applied. In tests, not only the inner surface of the glove, but also the outer surface must be exposed to chemicals.

Essentially protective gloves are spoiled by chemicalsThree different test methods are used in flour tests:

• Penetration test according to EN 374-2 standard
• Permeability test according to EN 374-3 standard, which replaces EN 16523-1 standard (Determination of material resistance against penetration of chemicals, penetration standard with potentially dangerous liquid chemicals under continuous contact conditions)
• Deterioration test according to EN 374-4 standard

Within the framework of hand protection equipment testing services, our organization also provides degradation (ISO 374-4) testing services by chemicals.