Contents of sensitising rubber accelerators in disposable rubber gloves: A Copenhagen market survey

Abstract

Background: Rubber gloves contain rubber accelerators that may cause contact allergy. The content of sensitising rubber accelerators in contemporary rubber gloves is not well known.

Objectives: Identify and quantify the content of rubber accelerators in disposable rubber gloves.

Methods: Fifty-one gloves of 49 different brands were collected. Forty-eight of the gloves were disposable and three re-usable. The gloves were analysed for their content of sensitising rubber accelerators, that is, zinc dithiocarbamates, thiurams, thiazoles/benzothiazoles, diphenylguanidine, and thioureas by high-performance liquid chromatography.

Results: Rubber accelerators were identified in 43/48 (90%) of the disposable gloves. In total, 39 gloves contained zinc dibutyldithiocarbamate (ZDBC) (0.18-1.96 mg/g), 34 zinc diethyldithiocarbamate (ZDEC) (0.032-2.78 mg/g), three zinc dibenzyldithiocarbamate (0.65-1.4 mg/g), one zinc dimethyldithiocarbamate (0.23 mg/g), and one 1,3-diphenylguanidine (0.21 mg/g). 2-cyanoethyl dimethyldithiocarbamate (CEDMC) was identified in three gloves (<0.052 mg/g). The one glove labelled as accelerator free contained ZDBC (1.07 mg/g). Only few glove packages had the specific content of rubber accelerators labelled.

Conclusions: The most frequent rubber accelerators in rubber gloves are ZDEC and ZDBC. Accelerator-free gloves may contain rubber accelerators. Full labelling of rubber gloves is needed and producers should be sure not to falsely claim that the rubber gloves are free of rubber accelerators.

Keywords: ZDEC; allergic contact dermatitis; contact allergy; hand dermatitis; high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC); market survey; occupational disease; rubber accelerators; rubber gloves.

FIGURE 1

The distribution of rubber accelerators in disposable rubber gloves. A single glove can contain more than one rubber accelerator. CEDMC, 2‐cyanoethyl dimethyldithiocarbamate; DPG, 1,3‐diphenylguanidine; ZDBC, zinc dibutyldithiocarbamate; ZDBZ, zinc dibenzyldithiocarbamate; ZDEC, zinc diethyldithiocarbamate; ZDMC, zinc dimethyldithiocarbamate. CEDMC is not a rubber accelerator added to the production of rubber gloves but a chemical that may be formed during vulcanization in the manufacturing of nitrile gloves.