For those employed in industrial workplaces, the importance of proper hand protection can’t be overemphasized. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) estimates that for every 10,000 full-time equivalent workers, 25 hand injuries occur on average per year. If you think of the millions of people who work in industrial settings, that number starts to climb dramatically.
Wearing gloves certainly lowers the risk of acute occupational hand injuries — by 60-70 percent, according to a study from the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety. And lately, more and more regulators, employers and manufacturers are focusing on this serious issue. OSHA’s hand protection standard, 29 CFR 1910.138, mandates that employers select and require employees to use gloves when employees’ hands are exposed to certain hazards, and the International Glove Association agrees, having recently launched a new certification and standards program to decrease confusion over standard ratings.