Depending on their method of manufacture, some medical gloves can have on their surface a small amount of powder, normally modified corn-starch, which is intended to assist donning. Current thinking is that the presence of excessive amounts of such powder can present a health hazard. The methods for the determination of removable surface powder in this International Standard are based on those given in ASTM D 6124-01, from which they differ in the method for determining removable powder from powder-free surgeon's gloves and in the precision data.
Anyone using this standard should be familiar with normal laboratory practice. This standard does not purport to address all of the safety problems, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user to establish appropriate safety and health practices and to ensure compliance with any national regulatory conditions.
BS EN ISO 15004-1 specifies methods for the determination of readily removable powder on the surface of gloves for medical use. Three methods are specified: method A for powdered gloves and methods B and C for powder-free gloves. This standard does not address safety issues that may be associated with the presence of powder on gloves nor does it prescribe limits on the amounts that may be present. The applicability of this standard to medical gloves not made from rubber has not been established.
