HARDY other manual workshop tools

The reports, as CPSC published them

1. Seen by a doctor or nurse

   Made Oct 25, 2017 · , sent to the company Nov 2, 2017 · , published by CPSC Nov 17, 2017

   The product, in the report: Full Grain Work Gloves - Harbor Freight Tools product #63153.

   Cutaneous exposure to a yellow dye on 10-2-2017 that dissolved out of yellow leather work gloves and into my hands, apparently due to perspiration. Subsequently I found that my wife had some weeks before worn these gloves while doing garden work at home and noticed how her hands had also become stained with the yellow dye that had dissolved out of the gloves after only using them for a short period of time. I also wore these gloves while doing gardening in our back yard and did not use or come into contact with any other chemicals or other potentially harmful substances. Within 24 hours of using these gloves I began to suffer from headache, eye irritation, urinary problems and severe fatigue. The dye remained in the skin and nails of both my hands for five days, resisting both immediate and frequent washings with soap and water to attempt removal. These gloves were purchased locally from a Harbor Freight Tools retail store as product item attached and sewn into the glove: Full Grain Work Gloves #63153. I contacted Harbor Freight Tools of Camarillo, CA by phone (888-866-5797) and spoke with their representative, [REDACTED] about the possible health risks to people wearing these gloves if the bright yellow dye proves to be an aniline dye. Subsequently, the dye was confirmed by email to me on 10-11-2017 to be aniline dye by HFT Product Support representative, [REDACTED].

   I found that other HFT consumers had submitted complaints of yellow staining of the hands from these same gloves, and therefore, I submitted a negative comment to the HFT web page for this product, stating that there was a potential health risk to wearing these gloves, due to the aniline dye not being properly “fixed” to prevent it from being absorbed into the skin via hand perspiration. I did not complain of the symptoms I had experienced with this comment submission.

   HFT screened out my consumer comment from their product web page, of a potential for toxic exposure to consumers that I submitted with this product on or about 10-11-2017. They did email to me a boiler plate response within 24 hours thanking me for my comment and stated that their screening policy is to allow/disallow consumer comments to their product web pages within a period of 7 days. It has now been 2 weeks since I submitted my comment, so I am assuming they chose not to let their consumers know of the potential dangers of their product. However, I did find a few days after submitting my comment, they continue to market this glove on their web site but with a different photograph of these #63153 Full Grain Work Gloves accompanying their product description. The photograph has been changed to a different photograph of a tan color leather work glove that does not match these bright yellow gloves at all. Also, for over a year, I have seen a thick cloth work glove of the same bright yellow hue marketed in several HFT retail stores. I do not know if the dye in those is also able to penetrate the skin.

   I contacted my state office of epidemiology (in New Mexico) within 48 hours of recognizing that my symptom complaints were related to the use of these gloves, and even though I am a medical doctor, the person with whom I spoke was unable to complete their toxic exposure report because I had not actually seen a doctor.

   Serial number

   #63153

   Where

   Las Cruces, New Mexico: Home/Apartment/Condominium

   Who was involved

   Age 69, Male

   The reporter’s relation to them

   Unspecified

   As this report names them

   Brand HARDY, made or sold by Harbor Freight Tools

   How badly, in CPSC’s words

   Injury, Seen by Medical Professional

CPSC’s disclaimer

Sources