Description

Electrical gloves, also known as insulating gloves or lineman’s gloves, are specialized personal protective equipment meticulously engineered to protect electrical workers, utility technicians, electricians, and other personnel from electrical shock, burns, and electrocution when working on or near energized electrical equipment, power lines, circuits, and electrical systems where contact with live conductors presents life-threatening hazards. These gloves are manufactured from natural rubber latex or synthetic materials such as synthetic rubber compounds, with the rubber composition carefully formulated and processed to provide exceptional dielectric properties that prevent electrical current from passing through the material and reaching the wearer’s hands, effectively creating an insulating barrier between the worker and dangerous voltage levels. Electrical gloves are classified according to rigorous international standards including ASTM D120 in North America and IEC 60903 internationally, with classification based on the maximum voltage rating they can safely withstand, ranging from Class 00 gloves rated for up to 500 volts AC for low-voltage work, through progressively higher classes including Class 0 (1,000V), Class 1 (7,500V), Class 2 (17,000V), Class 3 (26,500V), and Class 4 (36,000V), with each classification subjected to stringent electrical testing at voltages significantly higher than their rated capacity to ensure a substantial safety margin. The gloves must be tested before each use using portable glove testers or visual inflation tests to check for punctures, tears, cuts, or degradation that could compromise their protective integrity, and they require periodic laboratory testing at intervals specified by safety regulations to verify that their dielectric properties remain within acceptable parameters throughout their service life. Electrical gloves are always worn with leather protector gloves over them, which shield the delicate rubber from mechanical damage including cuts, abrasions, punctures, and snags that could occur from handling tools, rough surfaces, sharp edges on equipment, or contact with hardware, while the leather protectors themselves provide no electrical insulation and serve purely as mechanical protection. The rubber gloves feature a distinctive straight cuff design in various lengths including 11-inch, 14-inch, 16-inch, and 18-inch options, with longer cuffs providing protection further up the forearm for higher voltage work or situations where workers must reach into energized equipment, and the cuffs are designed to be worn over shirtsleeves to prevent any exposed skin between the glove and protective clothing. Proper storage and maintenance are critical for electrical gloves, requiring them to be kept in dedicated bags away from sunlight, ozone, petroleum products, and chemicals that can degrade rubber, stored in a relaxed state without folds or creases that could create weak points, and protected from temperature extremes that accelerate aging. Workers must be thoroughly trained not only in the proper selection, inspection, use, and storage of electrical gloves, but also in understanding their limitations, including the fact that they provide no protection against arc flash or arc blast hazards which require additional specialized protective equipment, and that damaged gloves must be immediately removed from service and never used regardless of how minor the damage appears. The gloves are color-coded by class for easy identification, often include size markings and voltage ratings printed or embossed on the cuffs, and represent an absolutely essential component of lockout/tagout procedures and energized electrical work protocols that are mandated by OSHA regulations and NFPA 70E standards. Beyond utility work and high-voltage applications, electrical gloves are used across numerous industries including electrical contracting, telecommunications, railway maintenance, industrial facilities, testing laboratories, and anywhere workers may encounter electrical hazards, making them a fundamental life-safety device that has prevented countless electrocution fatalities and serious injuries since their introduction as mandatory protective equipment for electrical work.