Eurofins Product Testing expands the scope of its chemical permeation tests

Eurofins Product Testing expands the scope of its chemical permeation tests to also include testing against the highly toxic hydrofluoric acid in relation to EN ISO 374-1:2016.

According to the updated standard entitled EN ISO 374-1:2016, the standard list of 12 chemicals with letter code A-L is now expanded to include 6 new standard test chemicals with letter code M-T.

One of the more demanding permeation tests is that against the highly dangerous and toxic chemical hydrofluoric acid (CAS number 7664-39-3), letter code S.

This test is now made available at Eurofins laboratories as part of our chemical permeation testing scope for protective gloves (Personal Protective Equipment – PPE)

This highly toxic chemical requires a special laboratory infrastructure and chemical expertise to ensure the safety when testing and handling the chemical, which may limit many other laboratories for testing against hydrofluoric acid.

At Eurofins, we are therefore proud to include this complimentary test together with our range of standard accredited permeation and degradation tests for personal protective equipment in order to better provide and serve our clients with a more comprehensive test program.

(The complete list of chemicals in our scope as specified in EN ISO 374-1:2016 are included in the Appendix (*))

Permeation testing

Permeation testing under real use patterns is used for identifying safe gloves. Eurofins performs reliable testing of the barrier effect of protective gloves in accordance with EN 16523-1 (replacing EN 374-3), ASTM F739 and ISO 6529.

The permeation test gives the breakthrough time - the point of time when the total permeation flow of all substances, through each cm² of the glove, reaches 1 µg (microgram) per minute (EN 16523-1) or 0.1 µg (ASTM F739). Additionally, the permeation rate may be determined.

Permeation of volatile organic compounds (VOC) such as solvents, and water-soluble substances such as acids, is subject to standard testing: The glove is placed in a test cell with the challenge product on the outer side of the membrane. Synthetic air or water passes along the inner side, flushing any chemical to a detector after break­through.

Beyond the standard tests, Eurofins experts have developed in-house methods by adapting the standardized ones in order to collect and monitor those chemical compounds that cannot be determined by regular permeation tests.

(*) Appendix