p-Phenylenediamine (PPD) is an important allergen; 5.0% of patients tested positive to PPD when patch-tested, according to the North American Contact Dermatitis Group. Hair dyes are the main source of exposure.
To assess the significance of PPD allergy at the Ottawa Patch Test Clinic.
We assessed the epidemiology of PPD allergies and determined the cross-reactivity with other para-amino compounds. Charts of patients visiting the Ottawa Patch Test Clinic between May 1997 and July 2009 were reviewed.
One hundred thirty-four patients were found to have a contact allergy to PPD; 75.4% were female, 24.6% were male, 13.4% were hairdressers, 18.7% had a history of atopy, 90.3% were sensitized by hair dye, 2.2% were sensitized by henna tattoos, and 7.5% were sensitized by other sources. Positive patch-test reactions to textile dyes were seen in 24.6%, 7.5% reacted to benzocaine, 6.0% reacted to sulfa drugs, 1.5% reacted to isopropyl-para-phenylenediamine, and 1.5% reacted to para-aminobenzoic acid.
PPD is an important source of allergic contact allergy. Our results show a significant relationship of PPD with other related para-amino compounds.
A 1982-1992 surveillance programme on Danish pottery painters. Biological levels and health effects following exposure to soluble or insoluble cobalt compounds in cobalt blue dyes.
This paper provides a short overview of cobalt-related diseases with particular reference to the potential carcinogenicity of cobalt compounds, and a review of a 10-year surveillance programme on plate painters exposed to cobalt in two Danish porcelain factories. Clinical experience and epidemiological studies have demonstrated that cobalt exposure may lead to severely impaired lung function, i.e. hard metal lung disease and occupational cobalt-related asthma, contact dermatitis and cardiovascular effects. However, the evidence for the carcinogenicity of cobalt and cobalt compounds is considered inadequate (IARC, 1991). Most frequently, exposure to cobalt occurs simultaneously with exposure to other elements known to pose a health risk, (e.g. nickel, arsenic, chromium, tungsten). The importance of cobalt as sole causal agent in hard metal lung diseases, cardiomyopathy and cancer are still a matter of controversy. In the two Danish porcelain factories, cobalt blue underglaze dyes have been used since 1888. In contrast to the exposure experience of hard metal factories, the exposure of plate painters occurs with only low trace levels of other potentially harmful compounds such as the carcinogenic metals nickel, arsenic and chromium. Consequently, the nearly-pure cobalt exposure makes the plate painters an attractive group for studies on the health effects of cobalt. During the period 1982-1992 the surveillance programme showed a profound reduction in the urine level of cobalt (Co-U) from 100-fold to 10-fold above the median level of the unexposed control subjects. In the same period, the airborne cobalt exposure declined from 1356 nmol/m3 to 454 nmol/m3, the Danish occupational exposure limit being 845 nmol/m3. In 1982, when the cobalt exposure was above the occupational exposure limit, the plate painters showed a chronic impaired lung function. The obstructive effects may be similar to some of the effects observed in hard metal workers. In 1988, a study on the effect of cobalt exposure at low levels revealed no inhibitory effects on thyroid function, but the ratio between T4 and T3 increased, indicating that low cobalt exposure may have an impact on the metabolism of thyroid hormones. Parallel studies were conducted on the metabolism and excretion of cobalt. The gastrointestinal uptake of soluble CoCl was considerably higher than the uptake of insoluble cobalt(II) oxide. In addition, it was demonstrated that ingestion of controlled amounts of the soluble cobalt compound resulted in significantly higher concentrations of cobalt in urine and blood (Co-B) from females compared with males (P
Exposure to organic solvents has been suggested to cause or exacerbate renal disease, but methodologic concerns regarding previous studies preclude firm conclusions. We examined the role of organic solvents in a population-based case-control study of early-stage chronic renal failure (CRF). All native Swedish residents aged 18 to 74 yr, living in Sweden between May 1996 and May 1998, formed the source population. Incident cases of CRF in a pre-uremic stage (n = 926) and control subjects (n = 998), randomly selected from the study base, underwent personal interviews that included a detailed occupational history. Expert rating by a certified occupational hygienist was used to assess organic solvent exposure intensity and duration. Relative risks were estimated by odds ratios (OR) in logistic regression models, with adjustment for potentially important covariates. The overall risk for CRF among subjects ever exposed to organic solvents was virtually identical to that among never-exposed (OR, 1.01; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.81 to 1.25). No dose-response relationships were observed for lifetime cumulative solvent exposure, average dose, or exposure frequency or duration. The absence of association pertained to all subgroups of CRF: glomerulonephritis (OR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.68 to 1.34), diabetic nephropathy (OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.74 to 1.41), renal vascular disease (OR, 1.16; 95% CI, 0.76 to 1.75), and other renal CRF (OR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.66 to 1.27). The results from a nationwide, population-based study do not support the hypothesis of an adverse effect of organic solvents on CRF development, in general. Detrimental effects from subclasses of solvents or on specific renal diseases cannot be ruled out.
It has been a matter of controversy whether there is an increased risk of lung cancer among asbestos-exposed workers without radiographic asbestosis. A previous study of lung cancer risk among asbestos-cement workers has been updated with an additional 12 years of follow-up.
Subjects had received radiographic examination at 20 and 25 years from first exposure to asbestos. Radiographs were interpreted by a single National Institute of Safety and Health (NIOSH)-certified B-reader using the 1971 International Labor Office (ILO) Classification of the pneumoconioses as reference standard. Asbestosis was defined as an ILO coding of 1/0 or higher. Standardized Mortality Ratios (SMRs) were calculated using the general population of Ontario as reference.
Among asbestos-cement workers without radiographic asbestosis at 20 years latency the lung cancer SMR was 3.84 (2.24-6.14). Among workers without asbestosis when examined at 25 years latency the SMR was 3.69 (1.59-7.26).
Workers from an Ontario asbestos-cement factory who did not have radiographic asbestosis at 20 or 25 years from first exposure to asbestos continued to have an increased risk of death from lung cancer during an additional 12 years of follow-up.
Notes
Comment In: Am J Ind Med. 2011 Jun;54(6):495-6; author reply 497-821328422
Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, Norway; Department of Occupational Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital, Norway. bente.moen@isf.uib.no.
Part of a crew on a Norwegian naval ship was exposed to the radar waves for approximately 7 min from an American destroyer during an incident at sea in August 2012. Information about the exposure was not given by the navy. This is a description of what happened with the crew on board after this event. 14 persons had been on the ship bridge or outside on the deck during the exposure and the rest of the crew had been inside the ship. 27 persons were examined at a hospital 6-8 months after the event, as they had developeda large number of symptoms from different organ systems. They were very worried about all types of possible adverse health effects due to the incident. All were examined by an occupational physician and anophthalmologist, by an interview, clinical examinations and blood tests at the hospital. The interview of the personnel revealed that they had not experienced any major heating during the episode. Their symptoms developed days or weeks after the radar exposure. They had no objective signs of adverse health effects at the examination related to the incident. Long-term health effect from the exposure is highly unlikely. The development of different symptoms after the incident was probably due to the fear of possible health consequences. Better routines for such incidents at sea should be developed to avoid this type of anxiety.
Quantitative analysis of threshold limit levels of UV-irradiation in the workroom environment established in USA, Netherlands and Russia was made. Comparison of its results with modern information about effective doses and action spectra of UV-radiation biological action allowed to reveal essential differences in the approach to rate setting and in some cases presence of internal contradictions and exceeding of threshold limit levels of UV irradiation above biologically effective values. The possibility of workroom UV standards utilisation for regulation of nature UV-radiation exposures was considered.
Para-tertiary-butylcatechol (PTBC) is a rare allergen which is used in the rubber, paint and petroleum industries. We present 9 patients who were sensitized to PTBC and examined at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH) between 1974 and 1995. 3 of the patients had been exposed to PTBC in their work. 2 of them also had allergic reactions to para-tertiary-butylphenol (PTBP)-formaldehyde resin and to PTBP. 5 of the patients became sensitized to PTBC from patch testing. PTBC was found to be one of the most common causes of active sensitization in our clinic. Accordingly, at the FIOH, the patch test concentration of PTBC was lowered to 0.25% and this lower concentration is recommended for general use.
Wood trimmers are exposed to molds that periodically grow on timber, and may develop acute as well as chronic pulmonary function impairment. This study examined whether these acute changes in pulmonary function are predictors for a longitudinal deterioration in pulmonary function, beyond normal aging and exposure. Across-shift changes in pulmonary function, measured during a working week, were evaluated in 15 wood trimmers with a follow-up time of 27 months. Twenty-six sawmill workers, employed at the same plants as the wood trimmers, served as control subjects. The highest concentration of viable mold spores for the wood trimmers was 10(6) colony-forming units (cfu)/m3, i.e., several times higher than the corresponding value for the sawmill workers. At the follow-up, wood trimmers had a lower forced vital capacity (FVC) on average, after adjustment for age and height, compared to the sawmill workers. In addition, a correlation was found between the across-week change in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and the decline in FEV1 between the first and the second occasion, after adjusting for normal aging in nonsmoking wood trimmers (r2 = 84%, p
