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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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Dermal exposure to ethanolamines in metal-working fluids
R. Jolanki*, M-L. Henriks-Eckerman, T. Tuomi, K. Suuronen Background
Water-based metal-working fluids (MWF) may cause irritant and allergic contact dermatitis. Ethanolamines used as corrosion inhibitors and pH adjusters are known skin and respiratory irritants and sensitizers. The aim of this study was to measure dermal exposure to MWFs by using ethanolamines as markers. Methods
The dermal exposure measurements were carried out in 9 machine workshops. 33 machinists worked for average of 2 hours, after which the operating hand of each machinist was rinsed for one minute in 200 ml of 20% isopropanol in a plastic bag. The machinists then washed their hands with soap and warm water, and blank samples were collected by using the same rinse-off method. 18 machinists used MWFs containing both monoethanolamine (MEA) and triethanolamine (TEA). MWFs containing mainly diethanolamine (DEA) were used by 5 machinists, and MWFs containing mainly MEA by 10 machinists. The rinse-off samples were analysed for ethanolamines by liquid chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (LC-MS). Results
The amounts of ethanolamines in the rinse-off samples of the 18 machinists were 0.1–5.8 mg/hand (median 1.2 mg/hand) for MEA and 0.3–76 mg/hand (median 2.6 mg/hand) for TEA. The amounts of DEA in the rinse-off samples of machinists who used MWFs with DEA as the main ethanol amine additive, were 1.8–37 mg/hand (median 12 mg/hand). The corresponding amounts of MEA were 0.5–13 mg/hand (median 7.4 mg/hand). In most cases, the rinse-off amounts corresponded to a remainder of about 1–2 ml of the MWF on the operating hand. All blank samples, except for 3, contained small amounts of ethanol amines (≤ 10% of the rinse-off sample). Conclusions
To our knowledge, this is the first time that dermal exposure to ethanol amines has been measured quantitatively among machinists. This hand washing method can also be used to determine the efficiency of protective gloves.
Content last modified: 17 May 2005 |
