IRMs are vitally important in product and specification testing, in research and development work, in technical service work, and in quality control operations in the rubber and carbon black industries. They are especially valuable for referee purposes. Many ASTM rubber standards for the evaluation of natural or synthetic rubber require the use of specific IRMs in their test recipes for better laboratory repeatability and reproducibility.

New material lots that have been selected as candidates for IRM approval shall conform to the appropriate specifications given in this standard and meet requirements given in Practice D4678 before the lots may be accepted as IRMs.

The chemical and physical IRM specifications shown will ensure some consistency in IRM properties from one lot to the next. However, the specifications cannot ensure exact inter-lot consistency.

This specification contains test procedures for evaluating the performance and safety of nitrile rubber gloves for use in conducting medical examinations and diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. The products covered by this specification include nitrile rubber gloves that fit either hand, paired gloves, and gloves by size and packaged sterile or nonsterile or bulk nonsterile. An approved lubricant for absorbable dusting powder may be applied to the gloves. Other lubricants may also be used, provided, that their safety and efficacy have been previously established. Both the inside and outside surface of the glove should be free of talc. All products should meet the required degree of sterility, freedom from holes, physical requirements before and after ageing, amount of powder on the glove, tensile strength and ultimate elongation.