Background of Gloves + CPC Database

The database was begun by Krister Forsberg in the early 1980's when he was working as a Research and Project Manager at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. In 1985 Krister and Larry Keith decided to convert the database into a publishable format so that it could be accessed inexpensively throughout the world. It became one of the world's first "electronic books" under the title of Chemical Permeation and Degradation Database and Selection Guide for Resistant Protective Materials. However, the established publishers of the world didn't know how to produce and market an electronic book, so the publication was rejected by every publisher approached. With no other recourse, Larry and Virginia Keith founded a new publication company, Instant Reference Sources Inc., dedicated to publishing electronic books and databases.

The first edition, published in the summer of 1986, contained about 3,500 test results on about 100 gloves with about 250 chemicals. It ran on IBM and compatible computers using DOS 2.0. The publication was updated every year for 4 years, adding new information but retaining the original format. A key criteria of the publication from its inception has been that every piece of test data must have a documented reference source.

In 1988 the publication's title was shortened and changed to emphasize its chemical permeation index number. The new name was Chemical Protective Clothing Performance Index, and it was published under this title through May of 1992.

In 1990 Mike Blotzer, an industrial hygienist with NASA and a pioneer in using computers for industrial hygiene applications, produced a Hypercard version of the publication in Macintosh format. The name of this version was HyperCPC Stacks and it was published for two years (1990 and 1991) under that title.

The 1992 version had a greatly improved searching and report writing program with the DOS version. In addition, the database was expanded to include about 8,800 test records covering over 750 chemicals and almost 300 different types and models of chemical protective clothing. In order to reflect these very significant changes, it was appropriate to once again change the title of the publication. In doing so, it was decided to simplify the direct relationship between the formats for IBM-compatible and Macintosh computers in the title. Thus, the title was Chemical Protective Clothing Permeation and Degradation Database with either an IBM-compatible or Macintosh version noted.

In 1995 the first Windows version (the 8th edition) was published under the current title Instant Gloves + CPC Database. This 1999 edition is the 9th version of this popular publication. It takes advantage of new, powerful capabilities inherent in Microsoft Windows programs. Today, the database has grown to include over 10,500 test records with an additional 3,000+ degradation tests on over 350 CPC products of all kinds (gloves, hazmat suits, boots, visors, etc.).

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