ARLINGTON, Va. — The International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) released a new standard — ANSI/ISEA 138-2019, American National Standard for Performance and Classification for Impact Resistant Hand Protection — to improve on the impact performance of industrial gloves.

The new standard builds upon the widely used ANSI/ISEA 105-2016, American National Standard for Hand Protection Classification.

ANSI/ISEA 138 will:

• Define an agreed test method
• Include three defined performance levels
• Specify a pictogram mark for each of the levels for compliant gloves
• Require products be tested in a laboratory with a certificate of accreditation meeting the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025:2017, General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories

The U.S. and Europe have long had standards for industrial gloves that protect hands from cuts, punctures, abrasion and chemical exposure, but ANSI/ISEA 138 is the first standard to address the risk from impact injuries in North America.

Of the 286,150 nonfatal occupational injuries to upper extremities in 2017 involving days away from work in private industry, 121,860 involved hands, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. According to OSHA, 70.9 percent of hand and arm injuries could have been prevented with personal protective equipment, specifically safety gloves. Impact-resistant gloves are commonly used in the automotive, heavy equipment and construction operation, cargo handling, oil/gas and towing/transportation industries.

Copies of ANSI/ISEA 105-2016 and ANSI/ISEA 138-2019 can be purchased online from ISEA and from ANSI's licensed resellers.