What are your thoughts on glove use in an organic chemistry lab setting?
I was trained from my Bachelor's to always wear gloves in lab unless using equipment and lab computers with clear instructions stating otherwise. Even in the safety course during my Ph.D., we discussed the benefits of wearing gloves as an extra layer of protection that buys time to reduce chemical exposure. No glove can behave as a barrier to all chemicals, but I was trained to be vigilant to chemical exposure on my gloves and remove them as quickly as possible.
I have recently joined another academic lab as a postdoc, and I learned that this chemistry department takes the exact opposite stance to glove safety. Here, gloves apparently only give researchers a false sense of security that can dull the sense of touch and prevent you from recognizing chemical exposure. This delay can then increase your chemical exposure as the chemical absorbs through the glove. I always see my labmates and others grab chemicals and solvents without gloves.
Before you get judgemental, I'm not a complete prude. I have been known to grab clean looking bottles and containers without gloves. But some of these people have been trained to the point where they are comfortable grabbing nasty ass bottles as if there isn't an increased risk.
Honestly, people can do what they want. I am mostly salty about the gentle reprimands I get every month of lab safety and my misuse of gloves.
Its unnecessarily dangerous to not wear nitrile gloves. This is the same rationale as seatbelts are less safe because they give you a false sense of security. PPE is not meant to be there to protect you as part of day to day operations but in case of accidents which like... obviously will happen. There's also the hazard of repeated exposure.
I will further posit that anyone being less careful/safe because they aren't wearing gloves will also be less careful/safe without them and likely the folks that need to be wearing them as policy to begin with
I like the seatbelt analogy better than the old-timey one I thought of at first: surgeons are gentlemen, and gentlemen's hands are always clean, ergo surgeons need not wash their hands. Maybe I'm jaded, but my perception of the diehard no-gloves camp is one of arrogant exceptionalism.