Abstract for Workshop 1

 

 

Workshop 1: Prevention of Skin Disorders in Wet Work

Co-Chairs:
Mari-Ann Flyvholm, National Institute of Occupational Health, Copenhagen, Denmark
Magnus Lindberg, Stockholm County Council and Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

The workshop will focus on prevention of skin disorders in wet work, as this area requires other preventive measures compared to the more severe irritants. The more severe irritants can and should be controlled by legal regulations.

In the prevention of skin effects from milder irritants and wet work (cumulative irritation; often accepted as ‘part of the job’ by the affected workers) different sorts of preventive measures are needed. The possibilities include, for example, prevention programmes with more or less trade-adapted recommendations on prevention of skin disorders. Evidence-based prevention programmes should be updated regularly based on the available scientific evidence. Implementation at the workplaces requires considerable attention.

Each panelist will make an introductory presentation of up to 10 minutes. The subsequent discussion will be structured by prepared questions and questions from the workshop participants.

• Evidence-based prevention - Thomas Diepgen, Germany
• Exposure assessment - Pieter-Jan Coenraads, The Netherlands
• Educational aspects - Elisabeth Held, Denmark
• Skin care products - Peter Elsner, Germany
• Industrial hygiene perspectives - Aaron Sussell, USA
• Implementation at the workplaces - Mari-Ann Flyvholm, Denmark

Questions for the panel discussion:

• Why is water an important irritant?
• How to prevent irritant contact dermatitis from wet work?

Could and should the German wet work regulation or parts of it be expanded to a world-wide wet work regulation? [see: TRGS 531, 1996 (Feuchtarbeit) in German or English ]

 

Content last modified: 14 May 2005

 

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