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Occupational dermatoses among fibreglass‐reinforced plastics factory workers
Author(s) -
Minamoto Keiko,
Nagano Megumi,
Inaoka Tsukasa,
Futatsuka Makoto
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
contact dermatitis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1600-0536
pISSN - 0105-1873
DOI - 10.1034/j.1600-0536.2002.460604.x
Subject(s) - allergic contact dermatitis , contact dermatitis , dermatology , patch test , formaldehyde , irritant contact dermatitis , occupational dermatitis , patch testing , irritation , medicine , benzoyl peroxide , occupational exposure , allergy , materials science , chemistry , composite material , organic chemistry , environmental health , immunology , polymerization , polymer
Fibreglass‐reinforced plastics (FRP) factory workers are at high risk of developing occupational dermatoses because of their exposure to many chemicals used in the manufacture of plastics as well as to glass fibre or dust. Patch tests were carried out on 29 workers involved in FRP manufacturing processes where unsaturated polyester (UP) resin was used, to investigate the causes of their skin problems. Of the 22 workers who reported experiencing skin problems, 16 showed positive results to at least 1 chemical, including 6 cases of multiple sensitivity. 2 showed positive reactions to UP base resin, 6 to cobalt chloride, 5 to benzoyl peroxide (BPO), 4 to methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKPO), 2 to para‐tertiary butyl catechol (PTBC), 1 to styrene and 1 to formaldehyde. After taking into account their exposures and reported causes by questionnaires and their patch test results, 7 cases were diagnosed as allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) due to chemicals, 3 as irritant contact dermatitis (ICD) due to chemicals, and 3 as dermatitis due to mechanical irritation (MI) from glass fibre or dust, as well as 9 as ACD and/or MI. 18 of the total of 29 subjects (62.1%), including 2 workers without a history of skin problems, were sensitized to at least 1 chemical. Cobalt, peroxides, PTBC and UP base resin were the common causes of ACD.