Will It Hurt My Gloves or FR? What ASTM D120 and F2621 Testing Means for Skin Products

Every lineman has heard it. “Don’t put that stuff on, it’ll eat your gloves.” So a lot of crews skip sunscreen and bug repellent and take the sunburn and the tick bites instead. That is a bad trade, but the worry behind it is fair. Your rubber gloves and your FR clothing are the gear that keeps you alive. Nothing you put on your skin should put them at risk.

That is why you see ASTM numbers on some skin products. This post explains what ASTM D120 and ASTM F2621 actually cover, what a product test can and cannot tell you, and how to use sun and bug protection around your PPE.

Your gloves: what OSHA already asks of you

Start with the rules you already work under. OSHA’s electrical protective equipment standard, 29 CFR 1910.137, says:

• Insulating equipment must be inspected for damage before each day’s use and right after any incident that could have damaged it.
• Insulating gloves get an air test along with that inspection.
• Gloves that show swelling, softening, hardening, or have turned sticky or inelastic may not be used.
• Insulating gloves are electrically tested before first issue and every 6 months after that.
• Insulating equipment must be stored away from light and from other damaging substances and conditions.
• Protector gloves go over insulating gloves, with limited exceptions.

Swelling, softening and stickiness are the signs of rubber that has been attacked by something. Oils and some solvents are well known for it. So the question “will this lotion hurt my gloves” is the right question to ask.

What ASTM D120 is

ASTM D120 is the standard specification for rubber insulating gloves. It covers how the gloves are made and tested to protect workers from electric shock. It sorts gloves into Type I (not ozone resistant) and Type II (ozone resistant), and into Classes 00 through 4 by voltage. The tests in the spec include AC and DC proof tests, breakdown tests, a chemical test, tensile strength, tear and puncture resistance.

D120 is a glove standard, not a lotion standard. A sunscreen cannot “be” D120. What a skin-product maker can do is put the product on glove rubber and then run the glove tests from D120 to see whether the rubber still holds up. That is what a “D120 tested” claim on a skin product should mean.

What ASTM F2621 is

ASTM F2621 is a standard practice for evaluating how safety products respond in an electric arc exposure. The products tested are usually finished, arc-rated items such as garments, gloves, face shields and rainwear. It does not set an arc rating for anything. Arc ratings for fabric come from a different method, ASTM F1959. Flame resistance of fabric is checked with the vertical flame test, ASTM D6413.

For a skin product, the practical question is simple. If it is on your skin and soaks into your FR shirt, does that fabric still behave the way it should in an arc or a flame? Testing answers that by putting the product on FR fabric and then running the arc or flame test on that fabric.

What our testing showed

Here is what R&R has on file, in plain terms:

• I.C. Industrial Sunscreen SPF 36. Glove testing at ELTEK International Labs: Type 1, Class 2 lineman gloves were exposed to the sunscreen, then put through the AC proof test at 20 kV. They passed the proof test. Some loss in tensile strength was measured after the exposure plus heat aging, and that result is kept on file. Arc exposure and vertical flame tests (ASTM F1959 and D6413) were run on FR twill coated with the sunscreen.
• I.C. Insect Repellent Spray. Glove testing at ELTEK International Labs with Type 1, Class 2 gloves, tensile and swell checks, and a 20 kV AC proof test. Arc exposure testing on FR twill (ASTM F1959) and a vertical flame test (ASTM D6413). In the flame test, the sprayed FR fabric showed essentially no afterflame and no melting or dripping.
• I.C. Insect Repellent Lotion. Arc exposure testing on FR twill (ASTM F1959) and an ASTM D120 glove report on file.

The sunscreen is a hybrid: non-nano zinc oxide plus organic UV filters. It is full broad spectrum SPF 36 and 80-minute sweat and water resistant, and it rubs in clear. Both repellents are EPA-registered and use IR3535. They repel mosquitoes and ticks for up to 8 hours. EPA Reg. No. 70759-2-91651 (lotion) and 70759-3-91651 (spray).

What a product test does not do

Be clear with your crew about the limits:

• A product test does not certify your gloves. Your daily inspection and air test, and the 6-month electrical retest, still apply.
• A product test does not change your FR clothing’s arc rating. That rating comes from the garment maker.
• Results apply to the product that was tested. Do not assume another brand of sunscreen or repellent behaves the same way.
• If a glove shows swelling, softening or stickiness, it is out of service, no matter what was on your hands.

How to use sun and bug protection around your PPE

• At the tailboard. Put sunscreen on clean, dry skin: ears, neck, face and the backs of your hands. Apply repellent to exposed skin as its label directs. Do it before you glove up.
• Let it soak in. Give it a few minutes before your gloves go on. Wipe your palms if they feel slick.
• Reapply on breaks. Sunscreen at least every 2 hours, and after 80 minutes of sweating. Repellent as its label directs. Take gloves off to do it, not on the pole.
• Store gloves right. Keep them in their bag, out of the sun, and away from bottles of anything. OSHA’s storage rule is there for a reason.
• Inspect every day. Air test, look and feel. Any change in the rubber, take them out of service.

For more on sun, ticks and poison ivy on the right-of-way, see our skin care page for linemen and utility crews and Field Notes: Utility & Electrical.

FAQ

Does “D120 tested” mean a sunscreen is approved for use with my gloves?

No. D120 is the glove specification. A D120 test on a skin product means glove rubber was exposed to it and then put through D120 glove tests. Your employer’s PPE program and OSHA’s inspection and retest rules still decide what goes in your bucket.

Is F2621 an arc rating?

No. ASTM F2621 is a practice for checking how safety products respond to an electric arc. It does not set an arc rating. Fabric arc ratings come from ASTM F1959.

Should I use a spray sunscreen on the line?

We make our sunscreen as a lotion, not an aerosol. Whatever you use, check whether it has been tested with your gloves and FR clothing, and follow your company’s PPE program.

Sources

• OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.137, Electrical Protective Equipment (daily inspection and air test, texture changes, 6-month retest, storage, protector gloves): https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.137
• ASTM D120, Standard Specification for Rubber Insulating Gloves (scope, types, classes, tests): https://store.astm.org/d0120-14.html
• ASTM F2621/F2621M-22, Standard Practice for Evaluating Response Characteristics of Safety Products in an Electric Arc Exposure: https://webstore.ansi.org/standards/astm/astmf2621f2621m22
• U.S. FDA, Sunscreen: How to Help Protect Your Skin from the Sun (reapply at least every 2 hours; water resistance): https://www.fda.gov/drugs/understanding-over-counter-medicines/sunscreen-how-help-protect-your-skin-sun
• R&R Lotion test reports on file: ELTEK International Labs lineman glove tests (sunscreen; insect repellent spray, 2016); Kinectrics / ArcWear ASTM F1959 arc tests on FR twill (sunscreen 2013, repellent lotion 2015, repellent spray 2019); ArcWear ASTM D6413 vertical flame tests (sunscreen and repellent spray, 2020); I.C. Insect Repellent Lotion ASTM D120 report.
• R&R Lotion product labels: I.C. Industrial Sunscreen SPF 36 Drug Facts; I.C. Insect Repellent Lotion EPA Reg. No. 70759-2-91651; I.C. Insect Repellent Spray EPA Reg. No. 70759-3-91651.