Colad is committed to produce the highest quality, certified nitrile gloves for working with paints and chemicals. These gloves ensure a healthy work environment and the best possible personal protection. To select the correct gloves for the job, distributors and users are recommended to take notice of the following:
COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic put personal protective equipment, including nitrile gloves, under increased demand. This created a scarcity of resources, in this case nitrile (NBR), which pushed market prices to the limit. This new gap in the market resulted in many alternative gloves being offered, often with a lower price than official CAT III gloves.
Increasingly, non-certified, unbranded gloves or even gloves meant for food handling are being offered to the paint processing industry. Most of the time, these gloves do not meet the demands/requirements needed for a CAT III PPE certification, due to a lack of chemical resistance or testing. Even though these cheaper options may seem of interest to our users, they do not offer nearly the protection level necessary for paint professionals.
Safety first!
For an employer, as well as an employee, it’s of the utmost importance to stay thoroughly protected. This can be achieved by having a clear view of the daily work process and the risks involved, selecting the suitable PPEs to protect each employee in the most efficient way.
Colad underscores the truth that working with faulty or non-certified personal protective equipment can result in long-term health problems, causing an elevated number of sick leaves due to health issues and more incidents resulting from a lack of quality. When thoroughly protected, paint professionals are safer, more efficient, more rewarded and happier in their jobs.
Responsibility of the chain
As we care for our customers, we would like to point out that we, as a company, take our responsibility in offering high quality gloves very seriously. In offering and guaranteeing suitable personal protective equipment to end users, each step in the supply chain has an important role and responsibility.
We ensure that our products meet General European Law
The PPE directive 2016/425/EU is the European product law for personal protective equipment, which is taken up by local law enforcement in each country.
Distributors and users
Each step in the supply chain has the responsibility to check and control that PPE being offered is:
- officially certified;
- not past its expiry date; and
- suitable for its task.
When it's known that a certain thin latex glove is certified for food use, a paint supplying dealer that offers it to body shops is not executing their responsibility.
Colad focuses on safety and optimum protection, offering only Category III certified gloves. This ensures users high protection and elevated working comfort.
Certification of Colad Disposable Nitrile Gloves
All Colad Disposable Nitrile Gloves are certified CAT III – PPE, guaranteeing the highest standards of user safety and product quality for their purpose. In this case, it means offering protection against chemical splashes of paint and paint-related chemicals. Each box of Colad gloves includes a clear description of chemicals and levels of protection, together with the CE 2777 mark, referring to the authorised body SATRA. This body is appointed as an authorised body by the European Union, qualified to certify CAT III PPE and to perform the required continuation of quality control .
What do CAT III – PPE (EU directive 2016/425/EU) gloves offer?
Personal Protective Equipment (CAT IIIs) are PPEs that are designed to protect against 'irreversible risks to health'. Thess are the highest level of PPEs, offering the best protection against a risk that harms a person's long-term health irreversibly. When we talk about protective gloves for the paint processing industry, you must consider skin contact with chemicals (solvents in paint). This contact could result in skin irritation or skin cancer, but also OPS (organic psychosyndrome) more widely known as 'painters' disease'.
As our skin is porous, contact with solvents, for just seconds, results in harmful chemicals penetrating the skin and entering the bloodstream. If contact is prolonged, this will result in chronic health problems.
The requirements in the EU directive for PPE 2016/425/EU are very strict for CAT III level PPE, as it protects the health of the users in the EU. All products undergo thorough testing and certification by an authorised body, and this certification will be continuously checked with regular quality control sample checks by this institute.
Make sure that you are thoroughly protected!
Always pick a suitable type of PPE matching the tasks to be performed, ensuring your short- and long-term health and safety. Colad offers nitrile gloves in various categories, but always with the highest certification. Should you need any more information please contact us via: info@emm.com.
