Skin Penetration: Hazardous Chemicals At Work

197 Pages·1990·11.187 MB·English

by  Philippe Grandjean

Skin Penetration:
Hazardous Chemicals at Work
Publication No. EUR 12599 EN of the Commission of the European
Communities, Scientific and Technical Communication Unit, Directorate
General Telecommunications, Information Industries and Innovation,
Luxembourg
Skin Penetration:
Hazardous Chemicals at Work
by
Philippe Grandjean, M.D.
Odense University, Denmark
A report prepared for
the Commission of the European Communities, Directorate-General
Employment, Industrial Relations and Social Affairs, Health and
Safety Directorate
Taylor & Francis
London New York Philadelphia
l l
1990
UK Taylor & Francis Ltd, 4 John St., London WClN 2ET
USA Taylor & Francis Inc., 1900 Frost Rd., Suite 101, Bristol,
PA 19007
0 ECSC-EEC-EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1990
LEGAL NOTICE
Neither the Commission of the European Communities nor any
person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the
use which might be made of the following information.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any
form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the
prior permission of the copyright owner and publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Grandjean, Philippe
Skin penetration: hazardous chemicals at work.
1. Dangerous industrial chemicals. Safety aspects
I. Title
363.179
ISBNO-85066-834-4
Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data is available
Cover design by Jordan and Jordan, Fareham, Hampshire
Typeset in lo/12 English Times by
Chapterhouse, Formby
Printed in Great Britain by Burgess Science Press, Basingstoke
on paper which has a specified pH value on final paper
manufacture of not less than 7.5 and is therefore ‘acid free’.
Contents
Preface ix
Section A Percutaneous absorption
Chapter 1. Percutaneous Absorption
The skin as a barrier
Normal functions of the skin
Variations in structure
Skin exposure at work
Past experiences
Current significance
Test methods 8
Application of Fick’s law 8
Physicochemical properties 11
Experimental data 12
Human data 14
Potentials for classification 15
Chemical properties 15
Partition coefficients 17
Alternative pathways 17
Structure-activity relationships 18
Sources of variation 18
The vehicle 18
Hydration of the skin 18
Integrity of the skin 19
Damaging effects of chemicals 20
Skin denotation 20
Reasons for a ‘skin’ denotation 20
Current practice 21
International variations 22
Recent modifications 23
Selection of chemicals for review 24
Validity of ‘skin’ denotation 24
Structure for evaluation 26
Preventive approaches 27
Planning for prevention 27
Treatment 27
Protective clothing 28
Barrier creams 29
References 29
Section B Chemicals as percutaneous hazards
Chapter 2. Inorganic and organometal compounds 37
Introduction 37
Hydrogen cyanide and cyanide salts 39
Tetraethyllead 40
Thallium 42
Other inorganic compounds 43
References 44
Chapter 3. Simple aliphatic compounds 47
Introduction 47
Aliphatic hydrocarbons 49
Methanol 49
Ally1 alcohol 51
Other alcohols 52
Ketones 53
Ethylene glycol, monomethyl ether 54
Other glycol derivatives 55
References 56
Chapter 4. Halogenated aliphatic compounds 59
Introduction 59
Carbon tetrachloride 60
Methyl bromide 61
Methyl iodide 63
Other compounds 64
References 66
Chapter 5. Aliphatic amides, nitriles and amines 69
Introduction 69
N,N-Dimethylformamide 70
N,N-Dimethylacetamide 71
Acrylamide 73
Acrylonitrile 75
Other compounds 76
References 77
Chapter 6. Isocyclic hydrocarbons, alcohols and related compounds 81
Introduction 81
Benzene 82
Toluene 84
Xylenes 86
Phenol 88
Cresols 89
Other compounds 91
References 92
Chapter 7. Halogenated cyclic compounds 97
Introduction 97
Polychlorinated biphenyls 98
Chlorinated naphthalenes 100
Pentachlorophenol 101
Toxaphene 103
Other chlorinated aromatic compounds 104
Other chlorinated cyclic compounds 106
References 108
Chapter 8. Isocyclic amines 113
Introduction 113
Aniline 114
4-Nitroaniline 116
Other compounds 117
References 118
Chapter 9. Organic nitro compounds and nitrates 121
Introduction 121
Nitroglycol 122
Nitroglycerin 123
Tetryl 124
Nitrobenzene 125
2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene 127
Picric acid 128
4,6-Dinitro-o-cresol 129
Other compounds 130
References 131
Chapter 10. Other nitrogen compounds 135
Introduction 135
Carbaryl 136
Nicotine 138
Paraquat 139
Hydrazine 141
1, 1-Dimethylhydrazine 142
Phenylhydrazine 143
Other compounds 145
References 146
Chapter 1I . Heterocyclic oxygen and sulfur compounds 151
Introduction 151
Epichlorohydrin 152
1,4-Dioxane 153
Other compounds 154
References 155
Chapter 12. Organophosphorus compounds 157
Introduction 157
Dichlorvos 158
Malathion 159
EPN 161
Parathion 162
Diazinon 164
Other compounds 165
References 167
Chapter 13. Organic sulfur compounds 171
Introduction 171
Carbon disulfide 171
Dimethyl sulfate 173
Dimethyl sulfoxide 174
Other compounds 176
References 176
Chapter 14. Conclusions 179
Index 181
Preface
This book is based on a project funded by the Commission of the European
Communities (CEC). A large part of the scientific literature retrieval and the
compilation on ‘skin’ notations was carried out by the International Register of
Potentially Toxic Chemicals (IRPTC). Other useful data, e.g. on chemical
production,was retrieved through the Environmental Chemicals Data Informa-
tion Network (ECDIN). The author was responsible for preparing all reports
generated under this project through the IRPTC during the period 1983 to 1989.
The present volume is revised and updated from the reports submitted to the
CEC.
In occupational health, contamination of the skin with chemicals has received
comparatively little interest in the past. The reasons for the lack of attention to
this problem may include the fact that uptake through the skin is difficult to
measure, and that the possible toxic significance is hard to evaluate. However,
there is increasing evidence that absorption of toxic chemicals through the skin is
of relevance. In particular, with the improved protection against inhalation of
such chemicals, the percutaneous uptake will tend to become more important. A
need was therefore detected for a thorough review of the evidence available for
percutaneous uptake and possible suggestions for safety practices in the
workplace.
The book contains a general section which outlines the mechanism of
percutaneous absorption and the methods used to evaluate its significance. The
rest of the book reviews the different classes of chemicals with emphasis on those
compounds that are considered major skin hazards. Hopefully, this book will
inspire increased efforts to prevent percutaneous absorption.
ix