Glossary
Glove Bag
A polyethylene bag fitted with built-in gloves, sealed around a pipe or section of pipe insulation, used for small-scale asbestos removal.
A glove bag is a single-use polyethylene bag with built-in gloves, designed to enclose a small section of pipe or equipment insulation so that asbestos can be removed without erecting a full negative-pressure enclosure.
The bag is sealed around the pipe with tape, the worker reaches in through the gloves, removes the insulation into the bag, applies a sealant, and then collapses the bag with the asbestos sealed inside for disposal.
Glove bags are used for small, discrete removal jobs, typically less than 60 linear feet on the same system. They have to be inspected for integrity before use, used with wet methods to suppress fibers, and changed out before reaching capacity. Workers operating glove bags must be trained for the procedure.
The technique is recognized in OSHA 1926.1101 as one of the alternative work practices for Class I work that doesn’t always require full containment, provided the conditions for glove-bag use are met and a competent person supervises the work.