In 2018, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that opioid overdose deaths (including fentanyl and carfentanil) comprised 46,802 (69%) of the 67,367 total drug overdose deaths. The opioid overdose epidemic affects Americans not only at home but also in the workplace. First responders may be at risk of opioid exposure during incidents such as vehicle searches and responses to overdose calls. To reduce direct exposure to opioids and other hazardous drugs, first responders rely in part on personal protective equipment (PPE) as their last line of defense. First responders seek guidance from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) regarding appropriate PPE selection for potential opioid exposure. There is limited empirical glove performance data for illicit drugs. Empirical data are needed to validate NIOSH's current recommendations regarding gloves to help prevent exposure to illicit drugs (i.e., powder-free nitrile gloves with a minimum thickness of 5 ± 2 mil [0.127 ± 0.051 millimeters]); however, no industry standard or test method currently exists for specifically evaluating PPE performance against fentanyl and its analogs. To understand the permeation qualities of gloves when challenged against fentanyl and carfentanil solutions, the ASTM International (formerly American Society for Testing and Materials) ASTM D6978-19 standard for chemotherapy drug glove permeation was adapted to test fentanyl and carfentanil hydrochloride solution permeation through twelve disposable glove models, including five models in which the manufacturers claim fentanyl protection. No nitrile glove models showed fentanyl or carfentanil permeation rates above the chemotherapy drug threshold criterion of 0.01 µg/cm2/min (i.e., thereby meeting the performance requirement) as calculated using the ASTM D6978-19 standard within the 240-min test. Latex and vinyl glove materials exhibited fentanyl and carfentanil permeation with permeation rates above this threshold. These findings are among the first empirical data to support NIOSH's current opioid glove recommendations and define procedures that could be used to support industry standards for evaluating opioid permeation through air-impermeable PPE materials.
Keywords: PPE; opioids; permeation rate; test method.