000			01937nam a2200337Ia 4500
008			220216s9999 xx 000 0 und d
100			_aIkram A
245		0	_aComparing the environmental degradation of a synthetic polybutadiene copolymer and NR latex examination gloves
260			_bJournal of Rubber Research _c2005
300			_a50-66
520			_aThe environmental degradation of a synthetic polybutadiene copolymer latex examination gloves was compared with NR gloves in a clayey tropical Oxisol. Glove pieces were treated with acetone to remove the auto-oxidation formulation prior to soil burial and the degradation rates measured as changes in mass loss after 12,24,36 and 48 weeks. Irrespective of solvent treatments, the polybutadiene copolymer pieces showed insignificant mass loss after 48 weeks, whereas the NR glove pieces retained 6;(treated) and 12;(untreated) of their initial mass. The populations of bacteria and fungi but not actinomycetes colonising the NR glove pieces were significantly higher than on the polybutadiene copolymer pieces. The surfaces of treated and untreated polybutadiene copolymer glove pieces, before and after burial, were not different when viewed under conventional scanning and transmission electron microscopy, indicating their unbroken rubber network. In contrast, the homogenous aggregates of rubber particles in the NR glove pieces appeared less organised and disintegrated after soil burial.
650			_aActinomycetes
650			_aAuto-oxidation
650			_aBacteria
650			_aCopolymer
650			_aDegradation
650			_aEnvironment
650			_aExamination gloves
650			_aFungi
650			_aLatex
650			_aOxisol
650			_aPolybutadiene
650			_aSEM
650			_aSoil
650			_aSynthetic
650			_aTEM
700			_aAmir-Hashim M Y
700			_aFauzi M S
700			_aShamsul Bahri A R
942			_cJS
999			_c55980 _d55980