Organic solvents permeation through protective nitrile gloves.

Effective diffusion coefficients for the permeation of several organic solvents through nitrile gloves were experimentally investigated using the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) F-739 test cell method. Fick's effective diffusion coefficients for benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, xylene, and styrene were estimated to be 0.61+/-0.02, 0.50+/-0.06, 0.27+/-0.02, 0.31+/-0.03, and 0.21+/-0.03 (x10(-6)cm(2)/s), respectively. These results were comparable to results found by others using different permeation models. Using a transient mass diffusion equation and appropriate initial and boundary conditions, the effective diffusion coefficients were found to adequately simulate the concentration profiles of the organic solvents in the collection chamber during the permeation test. The effective diffusion coefficients were found to be inversely correlated to the molecular weight of the compounds. The results of this study can be used to estimate the exposure to workers using nitrile gloves.