Which statement about chemotherapy gloves is correct?

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

Answer: (B)

Handling hazardous chemotherapy drugs requires gloves that have been validated for protecting against drug permeation. The standard practice that directly addresses this is the ASTM standard for assessing resistance of medical gloves to permeation by chemotherapy drugs. It lays out how gloves should be tested with anticancer agents and how permeation is evaluated, providing a clear benchmark for when a glove is protective enough or should be retired.

This is why the standard is the best answer: it specifically targets chemotherapy drug permeation and gives a validated method to confirm a glove offers real protection during handling. Other standards cover general chemical resistance or different glove requirements, but they do not provide the dedicated chemo-drug permeation testing required to ensure safety when working with anticancer agents.