Chemo gloves must meet which standard?

• A. ASTM standard D6314
• B. ASTM standard D6978
• C. EN374
• D. ISO 11193

Answer: (B)

Handling anticancer drugs requires gloves that prove resistance to drug permeation. The standard that governs this directly is the ASTM standard practice for assessment of resistance of medical gloves to permeation by chemotherapy drugs. It specifies how to test glove materials against chemotherapy agents, defining appropriate test conditions, such as exposure to specific drug agents, temperature, and duration, and it outlines how to determine breakthrough. This ensures the gloves you rely on actually protect against dermal exposure during preparation and administration. While general chemical-permeation standards exist, they don’t address the unique challenges posed by chemotherapy drugs; this chemo-specific standard is designed for that situation.