Latex Gloves

["Sue M. Dupre" <DUPRE%PUCC.bitnet@vmd.cso.uiuc.edu>]

My thanks to you all who responded to my inquiry about the contamination prob-
lem we had which may have resulted from latex glove permeability.  Since the
materials coming in contact with the gloves were primarily aqueous buffers
rather than organic solvents, our researcher has opted to try thicker latex
gloves which are more expensive and apparently better made.  During our discus-
sions, a University staff member who used to do health & safety work at a
Dupont facility told us that researchers at the facility never used latex
gloves during any radioisotope work (they routinely used PVA or PVC gloves).
I've been assuming that it is common practice to wear latex gloves for normal
biomedical radioisotope research applications.  Am I wrong?  Is it normal
procedure at your institution to use other types of gloves for this kind of
work?

Regards,
Sue Dupre/Health Physicist/Princeton University
dupre@princeton.edu