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NIOSH Home > Safety and Health Topics >Skin Exposures and Effects >Occupational & Environmental Exposures of Skin to Chemicals- 2005> Abstracts

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Abstract for Poster 10

 

 

An assessment of dermal exposure to semi-synthetic metal working fluids by different methods to group workers for an epidemiological study on dermatitis

B.N. van Wendel de Joode*1, E.P.B. Bierman3, D.H. Brouwer2, J. Spithoven1,
H. Kromhout1
1Environmental and Occupational Health Division, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS), Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
2Food and Chemical Risk Analysis, TNO Chemistry, Zeist, Netherlands
3TNO Human Factors, Soest, Netherlands

Assessment of exposure assessment to metal working fluids (MWF) has almost exclusively focussed on inhalation exposure. The aims of this study were (i) to assess levels of, and factors affecting, dermal and inhalation exposure to semi-synthetic MWF and (ii) to identify suitable dermal exposure grouping schemes among metal workers for an epidemiological survey on dermatitis of hands, forearms and head.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted in four metal working machining departments of a truck manufacturing plant, estimating dermal and inhalation exposure levels to semi-synthetic metal working fluids (SMWF) in machine operators. We estimated dermal exposure levels to SMWF by applying three different methods for dermal exposure assessment (VITAE (Video Imaging Technique for Assessing dermal Exposure), surrogate skin pad method, and a semi-quantitative dermal exposure assessment method (DREAM)).

The identified factors affecting dermal exposure were quite similar for the three methods, although differences were found with regard to estimated variability in dermal exposure levels between groups, within groups (=among workers), and from day-to-day. The VITAE-method appeared to be the most sensitive method, as it detected differences in exposure levels between workers that were not detected by the surrogate skin pad method, and only partly by the DREAM method. For airborne exposure levels no exposure affecting factors could be identified, and exposure levels varied almost exclusively from day-to-day.

Considering the additional effort and costs that use of the VITAE-method entailed, the observational semi-quantitative DREAM-method appeared to be more efficient for grouping of dermal exposure levels for our epidemiological study on dermatitis.

 

Content last modified: 15 May 2005

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