The aim of the present study was to quantify the permeation parameters of a complex water-insoluble straight oil metalworking fluid (MWF) of low volatility through nitrile gloves. The permeation through a chemically protective and a disposable glove was investigated using the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) F739-99a method with hexane as the collection medium. Analysis of collection side samples involved gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gravimetry. The detection breakthrough time for the chemically protective glove was > 10 h. For the disposable glove, the detection breakthrough time was 0.7 +/- 0.3 h, the lag time was 1.6 +/- 0.1 h, the diffusion coefficient was (3.7 +/- 0.3) x 10(-9) cm(2)/min, and the steady state permeation rate was 3.5 +/- 2.2 mu g/cm(2)/min. The disposable nitrile glove can be worn for about 30 min for incidental contact with straight oil MWFs without known carcinogens. The chemically protective nitrile glove should be worn otherwise. The chromatogram for the permeate differed from that of the original MWF, resulting from the faster permeation of lower molecular weight congeners. The combination of chromatography and gravimetry allowed quantifying the permeation parameters of complex water-insoluble nonvolatile mixtures. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.