青霉素制造过程中发生的职业性皮肤病

本文报告上海某制药厂生产青霉素过程中发生的职业性皮肤病。1964年及1987年分别调查357及193人,发病数分别为242(67.8%)及65(33.7%)人,所见皮损以皮炎湿疹最多,其他有接触性荨麻疹、瘙痒症、手掌角化皲裂、指间浸渍擦烂、甲沟炎及色素异常等。其中皮炎湿疹及手掌角化皲裂,1987年较1964年明显减少(P<0.001)。斑试结果显示甲醛、普鲁卡因、乙醇、青霉素为皮炎的主要致病因素。     

Occupational dermatoses among workers in a porcelain manufacturing factory

The objectives of the present work are to determine the prevalence and risk factors of occurrence of occupational dermatoses among workers in a porcelain manufacturing factory. The study included 235 workers (132 males and 103 females). After history taking, dermatological examination was performed at the work place. Cases of contact dermatitis (CD) were patch tested using potassium dichromate 0.5%, Cobalt chloride 1% and Nickel sulphate 5% in petrolatum. Results showed that the prevalence of occupational dermatoses (OD) was 26.8% among exposed workers. The highest percentage of OD was found among workers in the decoration department. It represented 30.2% of all cases. CD was the commonest presentation among the studied group, it represented 27% of all cases of OD. Results of patch testing indicated that out of 17 cases of CD 12 cases (70%) were of the irritant variety and 5 cases (30%) were of the allergic type. The prevalence of OD was found to be affected by age, duration of work, type of exposure and daily bathing after work.     

Occupational dermatoses among Polish private farmers, 1991-1999

BACKGROUND: Little is known about work-related skin diseases among Polish self-employed farmers. In the National Register of Occupational Diseases, private farmers are placed in one category together with other agricultural workers, despite fundamental differences in compensation legislation and separate insurance institutions. The Agricultural Social Insurance Fund reports only on numbers of compensated cases. The aim of this study was to create reliable statistics on occupational dermatoses among private farmers. METHODS: All cases of work-related skin diseases diagnosed from 1991 to 1999 were included in the statistics. Compensation records of the Agricultural Social Insurance Fund were analyzed for diagnoses, causative factors, and health impairment of the skin. RESULTS: The first occupational dermatosis was registered in 1992. Until the end of 1999, there were 101 cases (63 women and 38 men). The incidence rose from 0.006/10000/year in 1992 to 0.189/10000/year in 1999. Allergic contact dermatitis was the most common diagnosis (86%), followed by infectious skin diseases (10%), irritant contact dermatitis (3%), and urticaria (2%). The most frequently identified causative factors were plant dusts (38%), animal allergens (36%), metals (29%), pesticides (18%), and rubber chemicals (15%). The median impairment due to skin disease was 20% (range 2-36%). CONCLUSIONS: Since the introduction of workers' compensation, the numbers of occupational dermatoses diagnosed in Polish private farmers have increased rapidly. However, compared to countries with a longer experience in this field, these figures remain low, probably due to low detection of these diseases.     

Occupational dermatoses from one-component epoxy coatings containing a modified polyamine hardener

In an electronics plant, 2 one-component epoxy coatings containing a modified polyamine hardener were used as covering materials for protecting important information on police radio circuit boards. The resinous parts of the coatings consisted of epoxy resins based on diglycidyl ether of bisphenol F. The hardener was a dimethylaminopropylamine (DMAPA)-epoxy adduct and contained about 0.16% free DMAPA. Of 105 workers, 17 (16%) were diagnosed to have work-related dermatitis but were not patch tested. The hands were the commonly affected region (13 out of 17 cases). The latent period of dermatitis was very short (mean 21.5 days). The work-related dermatoses were closely related to the type of work and working periods. In the present study, hand protection and the introduction of automation have been demonstrated to be useful for the prevention of epoxy coating dermatitis.     

Occupational dermatoses among workers in slag separation plants of the low-carbon ferrichrome industry

Slag separation shops in low-carbonaceous ferrochromium production, although provided with ecologically and economically justified closed waste-free technological scheme, are marked by occupational dermato-pathologies among the workers (epidermitis, contact dermatitis, allergic dermatoses) as well as by certain prevalence of some non-occupational skin and fat-tissue disorders caused by hazardous labour conditions. The article reveals the complex characteristics of slag's affecting the skin, which include primary irritating factors (alkali) and allergenic factors (chromium-hapten). The contributors propose a set of diagnostic and preventive measures with due account of the occupational diseases' specificity.     

Occupational health in water-soluble vitamin production plants

The article presents an hygienic assessment of synthetic water-soluble vitamin production shops, reveals the technological process' specificity with regard to its multi-stageness, discreetness, usage of non-hermetic equipment, manual labour prevalence, discharge of hazardous ingredients of different physical and biological characteristics in the working zone air. Outpatient examinations of the workers engaged in the production revealed changes in the upper respiratory organs and the skin. Health-related improvement of the working conditions lies in the elaboration of non-stop technological processes, introduction of hermetic automatic equipment, socio-medical problem solution. It is proposed to standardize the vitamins produced with taking into account their biological properties.