Glove handling is the part of a CBRN response that crews rehearse least and improvise most. A good glove worn through a sloppy junction protects less than a modest glove sealed properly. The drill below needs only a stopwatch, chemical tape and a waste bag, and scores every responder against the same standard.
Choosing the Method: Gloves In or Gloves Out
There are only two junction configurations, and the choice belongs in the response plan, not in the moment.
- Glove-out: the glove cuff is pulled over the suit sleeve and taped. Use it where the sleeve has no outer cover and the challenge is liquid or splash, such as decontamination lines and Level B work.
- Glove-in: the suit sleeve, gauntlet or outer flap covers the glove cuff. Use it where the suit is designed that way, where adhesive would damage a reusable sleeve, or where an ensemble must be re-doffed repeatedly during training.
The rule: the junction must always sit under the outermost layer, taped or fastened before entry. A responder who cannot say which method their suit uses should not wear it.
The Donning Sequence
Before any glove touches a hand, confirm the size on the PPE card, inflate it to look for pinholes, check cuff and palm for discoloration or separation, and verify the shelf-life date. Rings, watches and sharp jewellery come off first.
- Don the thin liner glove and smooth the seams flat; bunched liner fabric creates pressure points and false punctures.
- Put the arms into the suit sleeves first, then the gloves, so the glove is not dragged and stretched over the cuff.
- Slide the hand in without blowing into the glove. Breath carries moisture into the lining and inflates creases that become flex cracks.
- Seat each finger fully, push trapped air toward the cuff, then raise the hands above the shoulder and flex to purge what remains.
Sealing, Overlap and Buddy Verification
Tape the junction with a 30 to 50 mm overlap, half-lapping each turn, pressing out every wrinkle, and finishing the free end on the outside where it can be found later. A wrinkled tape line is a wicking channel.
Verification is a two-person task. The wearer makes a fist, pinches the cuff and rotates the wrist; the seal must turn without gapping. The wearer then raises both arms overhead while the buddy checks for exposed skin, a tunnel at the wrist or a twisted glove, and signs off the pair number and tape time. Set targets at 90 seconds for the glove stage and under eight minutes for the full ensemble, and re-run timed drills monthly; a responder who overruns by more than 30 percent usually needs a different size, not more practice.
Doffing Without Self-Contamination
Doffing starts with decontamination of the outer surface at a marked line, with a buddy holding the waste bag. Remove gloves away from the face, never above chest height.
- Pinch the palm of one glove with the other gloved hand and peel it inside out, without touching the bare wrist.
- Slide two bare fingers under the cuff of the remaining glove, peel it over the first glove, and keep both contained inside the second.
- Drop the bundle into the bag, seal and label it, and record the exposure on the PPE card.
Forty-five to sixty seconds is a reasonable target for the glove stage; slower is acceptable, contamination is not. Drills should be dull and identical every time, because the value of a drill is that nobody has to think during the real call.