PPE Selector
Decision tree for glove material, respirator class, and eye protection.
How to use this tool
Get a quick starting recommendation for what to wear when handling a class of chemical, the right glove material above all, plus eye, respiratory and body protection. A planning aid to check against the actual product SDS.
What to enter
- Hazard / chemical class: pick the family that matches what you're handling (strong acid, chlorinated solvent, oxidiser…).
Reading the result
A four-row card lists the recommended Gloves, Eye/face, Respirator and Body protection, with a colour border flagging how hazardous the class is. Glove choice is the critical one, the everyday nitrile glove fails fast against several solvent families. Always cross-check a permeation chart for your specific product.
Worked example
Chlorinated solvents (DCM, chloroform) call for laminate or Viton gloves, ordinary nitrile breaks through fast, an organic-vapour cartridge (black), and a fume hood.
Recommended PPE
Four rows, gloves, eye/face, respirator, body, with a coloured border flagging how hazardous the class is (green low, amber moderate, red high). Glove choice is the one that bites: the everyday nitrile glove breaks through fast against several solvent families, so check the named material against a permeation chart for your actual product before relying on it.
How to read this
Glove choice is driven by breakthrough time for the chemical class, nitrile is the everyday default but fails fast against many chlorinated and aromatic solvents, where laminate (Silver Shield/Barrier) or viton is required. Respirator cartridges are colour-coded by gas family. Match to the actual SDS and a glove permeation chart for the specific product.
Sources
- Ansell/Showa permeation guides; NIOSH respirator cartridge colour code (42 CFR 84).