A Guide to Glove Safety: EN 407
For all of the gloves that we sell here at SafetyGloves.co.uk, it's the heat-resistant gloves that you'll want to put your trust in most. Whether you work in foundry with heat that could burn through metal, or you're a chef who will be taking hot trays from the oven, you'll expect that the heat-resistant gloves that you are wearing will protect you from burns.
EN 407 ensures that your heat resistant gloves will offer the heat resistance that they say they do
It’s okay buying one of our heat proof gloves but why should you trust them and put your health directly on the line? This is where EN 407 comes in, the EN Standard that is designed specifically to deal with heat. This article quickly explains what EN standards are before giving you the lowdown on EN 407 so you are less likely to put the wrong glove into a molten furnace!
What Are EN Standards?
EN Standards are the things you look for if you want to have confidence in the safety specifications of PPE. They are the standards provided by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN), who works on behalf of a range of countries and entities including the European Union. You can trust EN Standards because it is against the law to present a glove as having a specific rating when it hasn't been tested to said rating.
We wouldn't list any gloves that we didn't trust, and EN Standards are an excellent way of showcasing the quality of a glove. EN Standards can range from things such as cold resistance, mechanical resistance, vibration resistance and more, but what we're concerned about here is heat. The following section will breakdown EN 407 in detail, before presenting a little case study for a more in depth look at EN 407.
What is EN 407?
All of our Heat Resistant Gloves will be tested to EN 407, so if you see EN 407 on your safety gloves or if you see them in a listing then you'll know that they are resistant to some level of heat. Similarly if you're after buying some heat-resistant gloves but you aren't too sure where to start, then we would recommend you look for the EN 407 score in the copy of our listings. We'll explain that further in a moment, but firstly if you want to know if the gloves sat on your desk will protect you from heat, then you can look for the following EN 407 symbol.
The EN 407 symbol
How Do You Read EN 407?
If a glove is resistant to heat then a table of six tests will be included in the listing and the tests results will be on the back of the hand of the gloves. Your gloves will receive a score between Level 0 (a fail) and Level 4 (highest score) or achieve an N/A, which means that they were not subjected to that test. The scores will be presented in a table like this.
| Hazard | Level of Resistance |
|---|---|
| Burning | Level 0 to Level 4 |
| Contact Heat | Level 0 to Level 4 |
| Convective Heat | Level 0 to Level 4 |
| Radiant Heat | Level 0 to Level 4 |
| Molten Metal (Small Splashes) | Level 0 to Level 4 |
| Molten Metal (Large Splashes) | Level 0 to Level 4 |
What Does Each level Received Actually Mean?
It's okay knowing what level your gloves have received for each test, but what if you require a certain level of heat protection. Well thankfully here we're going to explain it briefly for you, demonstrating what each score for each factor actually means for you and heat protection.
Test One: Burning (Sometimes Called Flammability)
The first test subjects the gloves to an ignition, before measuring how long the gloves will continue to show an after-glow and after-burn once the ignition has been removed. The score achieved is measured by the following:
| After-Burn Time (seconds) | After-Glow Time (seconds) | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Under 20 seconds | Infinity | 1 |
| Under 10 seconds | Under 120 seconds | 2 |
| Under 3 seconds | Under 25 seconds | 3 |
| Under 2 seconds | Under 5 seconds | 4 |
Test Two: Contact Heat Resistance
A lot of the heat resistant gloves that we sell are only tested to contact heat resistance, as this is ideal for ovens, bakeries, glass handling and more. It tests the gloves capabilities at resisting a temperature over 15 seconds. Bear in mind however that if a glove achieves a Level 3 in this test, it must achieve a Level 3 in the flammability test otherwise it will be awarded with a Level 2.
| Temperature after 15 Seconds (°C) | Rating |
|---|---|
| 100°C | 1 |
| 250°C | 2 |
| 350°C | 3 |
| 500°C | 4 |
Test Three: Convective Heat Resistance
The convective heat test tests how long it will take a glove to delay the transfer of heat from a flame. As with the previous test, a Level 3 or 4 score will only be achieved if it is matched in the flammability test.
| Seconds | Rating |
|---|---|
| Under 4 seconds | 1 |
| Under 7 seconds | 2 |
| Under 10 seconds | 3 |
| Under 18 seconds | 4 |
Test Four: Radiant Heat Resistance
This tests how long a glove is able to delay the transfer of heat when exposed to a radiant heat source. Again, the level of performance is only mentioned if the gloves can achieve a Level 3 or Level 4 in the flammability test.
| Seconds | Rating |
|---|---|
| Under 5 seconds | 1 |
| Under 30 seconds | 2 |
| Under 90 seconds | 3 |
| Under 150 seconds | 4 |
Test Five: Resistance to Small Splashes of Molten Metal
The resistance to small splashed of molten metal is measured with the number of molten metal drops that are required to heat the glove to a given level. A level of performance is only mentioned if a performance Level 3 or 4 is obtained in the flammability test.
| Number of Drops | Rating |
|---|---|
| Under 5 | 1 |
| Under 15 | 2 |
| Under 25 | 3 |
| Under 35 | 4 |
Test Six: Resistance of Large Splashes of Molten Metal
This test determines the weight of molten metal that is required to cause smoothing or pinholing across a simulated skin placed directly behind the glove sample. The glove fails the test if metal droplets remain stuck to the glove material or if the specimen ignites.
| Grams of Molten Metal | Rating |
|---|---|
| 30g | 1 |
| 60g | 2 |
| 120g | 3 |
| 200g | 4 |
A Case Study: The Ejendals Tegera 139 Heat Resistant Gloves
Now that you're familiar with EN 407, we can put it to the test with one of our Heat Resistant Gloves. The gloves that we've selected are the Ejendals Tegera 139 Heat Resistant Gloves, because they offer an exceptional all-round level of heat resistance and a high level of dexterity, meaning that they are well suited to a wide range of tasks that stretches from fine handling to sheet metal work and tiling. They achieved the following EN 407 score:
| Hazard | Level of Resistance |
|---|---|
| Burning | Level 4 |
| Contact Heat | Level 1 |
| Convective Heat | Level 3 |
| Radiant Heat | Level 2 |
| Molten Metal (Small Splashes) | Level 4 |
| Molten Metal (Large Splashes) | N/A |
What Does This Mean?
This means that the gloves achieve the best burning (flammability) score possible, which means two things. Firstly, that they can resist most flames that you can expect to come into contact with at work, and secondly that the high burning score means that they can achieve a high score in the other tests too.
The Ejendals Tegera 139 Heat Resistant Gloves
As a result the gloves can withstand temperatures of 100°C, which makes them ideal for handling most low-risk hot materials. The gloves achieve a strong level of convective resistance, an okay level of radiant heat resistance, and an exceptional level of resistance to small splashes of molten metal. The N/A in the large splashes box indicates that the gloves weren't tested to molten metal for large splashes.
Protect Your Hands Against Heat
Choosing the correct heat resistant gloves means that you'll be safe at work from burns. This extra level of safety makes you safer, more productive and happier at work. If you'd like to find out more then you can check out our Heat Resistant and Gloves for Hot Environments categories at SafetyGloves.co.uk, or try calling an expert at 020 7501 1104.
