Document OJro1yxzx8rN1v6KOynJEdDX

Industrial Hygiene Specific agents responsible for indu trial skin diseases can be classified accordi g to how they act upon the skin The relative im portance of these causative factors vanes from one industry to another, depending upon the matenals and processes used The determi nation of specific causative factors in cases of industrial skin disease is, of course, a problem for the dermatologist Causative factors are listed as follows Detergents and keratin solvents remove the natural oils from the skm or react with the oils of the skm to increase susceptibility to reactions from chemicals which ordinarily do not affect the skin Matenals which remove the natural oils include alkalies, soaps, and turpentine Typical matenals which increase susceptibility are cottonseed and olive oils, alcohol, phenylene bases, and several of the aromatic hydrocarbons Dessicators, hygroscopic agents, and anhydndes take water out of the skin and gen erate heat Examples are sulfur dioxide and tnoxide, phosphorus pentoxide, strong acids such as sulfunc, and strong alkalis such as potash Protein precipitants tend to coagulate or callous the outer layers of the skin They in clude all the heavy metallic salts and those which form alkaline albuminates on combin ing with the skin, such as mercunc and feme chlonde Alcohol, tannic acid, formaldehyde, picric acid, phenol, and intense ultraviolet rays are other examples Hydrolytic matenals unite with water of the skin and thus form lmtatmg compounds or dissociate into lmtatmg elements when in contact with water Heat is liberated on the skin during the reaction Examples of such substances are mustard gas, ammonium ni trate, and hexamethylenetetramine Oxidizers unite with hydrogen and lib erate nascent oxygen on the skm Such mate nals include nitrates, chlonne, iodine, bro mine, hypochlontes, feme chlonde, hydro gen peroxide, chromic acid, permanganates, and ozone Solvents extract essential skin constit uents Examples are ketones, aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, halogenated hydro carbons, ethers, esters, and certain nitro com pounds Keratogenic and neoplastic agents act by stimulating abnormal growth in the outer layer of the skm and may cause either malignant or benign tumors Examples are arsenic, coal tar products, petroleum and shale, and some coal tar bases such as 3, 4-Benzpyrene (Ani line does not cause cancer) Biotic agents are microorganisms and parasites (vegetable and animal) which act on the skm to produce dermatitis, such as athlete's foot Allergic or anaphylactic proteins stimu late the production of antibodies which cause skm reactions in sensitive persons The sources of these antigens are usually cereals, flour, and pollens, but may include feathers, scales, flesh, fur, and other emanations Reducers react with water on the skm and, if the solution is strong, causes shedding of the horny layers Examples are photographic developers, tar, phenols and naphthols, aro matic and aliphatic hydrocarbons, salts of titanium and hydroqumone, resorcinol, formalin, paraldehyde, and salicylic, formic, and oxalic acids Mechanical causes of skin irritation include friction, pressure, and trauma, which produce cuts, which may become infected with either bacteria or fungi, and callosities If the homy layers of the skin become softened by high temperatures and excessive perspiration, the development of friction (for example, be tween the buttocks) then leads to dermatitis Other examples of mechanical causes are ab rasions Physical agents which lead to occupational dermatitis include heat, cold, water, sunlight, X rays, ionizing radiation, and electricity Hot water softens the skm so that substances more readily attack it, as typified bv derma toses occurring among laundry workers and dish washers X rays and other ionizing ra diation may cause dermatitis, severe bums, and even cancer Prolonged exposure to sun light produces skin changes which may cause dangerous body alterations Frostbite pro duces chilblains 1276