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Determination of the Attenuation Properties of Laboratory Gloves Exposed to an Ultraviolet Transilluminator. Edward A. Gazdik, Frank S. Rosenthal, Wei-Hsung Wang Purdue University School of Health Sciences. Background. Researchers visualize nucleic acids following
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Determination of the Attenuation Properties of Laboratory Gloves Exposed to an Ultraviolet Transilluminator Edward A. Gazdik, Frank S. Rosenthal, Wei-Hsung Wang Purdue University School of Health Sciences
Background Researchers visualize nucleic acids following gel electrophoresis and ethidium bromide (EtBr) staining with a UV transilluminator
UVR Regions UVA (315-400nm) UVB (280-315nm) UVC (180-280nm) • Applications • Sanitation • Medical • Industrial • Criminology • Laboratory/Research Image of the Sun taken at UV wavelength www.pbs.org
Purpose of Study Measure the UVR (UVA and actinic) transmission through 9 laboratory gloves using 2 different methods • Radiometer • Spectrophotometer Quantify any change in UVR transmission with modified gloves • 30% stretched • Wet with saline • 24 hour treated with saline Provide a hazard assessment for subjects using UV transilluminators
Glove Material • Preliminary investigation of Purdue’s research facilities… • Gloves Studied • Glove Color • Clear, White, Green, Blue, Purple
Radiometer Method Setup Gigahertz-Optik Radiometer with UVA and Actinic Detectors
Vinyl Gloves -- Radiometer Data * * * Bars represent std error and a * is significance at 0.05 level
Nitrile and Latex -- Radiometer Data * * * * *
Spectrophotometer Method • A spectrophotometerwas used to measure the UV transmission vs. wavelength of glove material. • Spectrophotometer data can be used to predict effective attenuation for different UV sources. Scenario 1 – Un-stretched glove
Comparing Methods: Spectrophotometer to Radiometer Transmitted UVR Predicted Transmission = ---------------------- Incident UVR ∑ Eλ Sλ ∆λ Tλ = ---------------------- ∑ Eλ Sλ ∆λ Where: Eλ = Spectral source irradiance Sλ = Relative spectral detector response ∆λ = Band width in nm Tλ = Spectrophotometer transmission
Vinyl, Spectrophotometer Data Averaged from 3 Trials of each Brand
Nitrile, Spectrophotometer Data Averaged from 3 Trials of each Brand
Latex, Spectrophotometer Data Averaged from 3 Trials of each Brand
Variation Within Same Brand Radiometer Data: 74% UVA and 14% Actinic Transmission
Radiometer and Spectrophotometer Optics Spectrophotometer Scattered Light (Not Detected) Incident Light Transmitted Light Scattered Light (Not Detected) Spectrophotometer Detector Glove Sample (Side View) Radiometer Incident Light RadiometerDetector
Experiment Distancing the Sample from the Detector Detector Detector Glove Sample (Side View) Glove Sample Copper Tube Opaque material Transilluminator TRANSILLUMINATOR TRANSILLUMINATOR
Human Subject Survey • 19 subjects • Average use: • 3.7 days per week (1-7) • 7.8 minutes per day (1-18) • Glove use • 100% (16 latex, 3 nitrile)
Survey of Actinic UV Exposure in 19 Transilluminator Users Inc ExpA tB Allowable time, with specified gloveC mw/cm2 min none vinyl nitrile latex 0.4 – 1.7 1- 18 2- 8 s 11-52 s 2-11 h 2 – 8 h AActinic Exposure at the surface of transilluminator BActual duration of use per day CAllowable exposure time according to the ACGIH TLV, assuming worker wears specified glove
Survey of UVA Exposure in 19 Transilluminator Users Potential ExposureC Inc ExpA tB Number overexposed/ total subjects mw/cm2 min none vinyl nitrile latex 0.1 – 4.8 1- 18 10/19 10/19 0/19 0/19 AUVA Exposure at the surface of transilluminator BActual duration of use per day CSkin exposure, compared to the ACIGH TLV, for a worker wearing the specified glove.
Conclusions • Vinyl gloves offered the least UVR protection averaging 73% UVA and 13% actinic transmission; latex and nitrile both averaged less than 1% transmission for both detectors. • 30% stretching increased UVA transmittance 6%, 52% and 40% and increased actinic transmission 7%, 52% and 98% for vinyl, nitrile and latex respectively. • All gloves but Oak vinyl increased in UVR transmission when wet. • Radiometer and spectrophotometer agreed that vinyl gloves are least protective. But spectrophotometer method was inaccurate due to scattered light.