ASTM standard for needle puncture protection

Hypodermic needles pose health and safety concerns for health professionals, law enforcement, sanitation workers and others who come into accidental contact with blood-borne pathogens such as HIV and hepatitis C. ASTM has developed a new international standard, ASTM F2878—Test Method for Protective Clothing Material Resistance to Hypodermic Needle Puncture, to address the unique mechanics of needle puncture. While no single standard can replicate the conditions in which a needle puncture takes place, ASTM F2878 fills “a critical gap in users’ ability to look at overall personal protective equipment performance in a comprehensive way,” said John Cronin, product manager, Warwick Mills Inc., a member of the committee that developed the standard.