Does occupational exposure to glass-fibres increase the general skin reactivity to irritants?

Skin irritation to glass wool or continuous glass filaments as observed by a patch test among human Japanese volunteers

Glass wool and continuous glass filaments have been used in industry. We examined the irritability of those among Japanese. A patch test was performed on 43 volunteers for the followings: glass wool for non-residential use with and without a urea-modified phenolic resin binder, that for residential use with and without the binder, and continuous glass filaments with diameters of 4, 7, 9, and 13 µm. Materials were applied to an upper arm of each volunteer for 24 h. The skin was observed at 1 and 24 h after the removal. At 1 h after removal, slight erythema was observed on the skin of a woman after the exposure to glass wool for residential use without the binder. Erythema was observed on the skin of another woman at 1 h after a 24-h exposure to glass wool for non-residential use without the binder. There were no reactions at 24 h after the removal. The low reactions in the patch test suggested that the irritability caused by glass wool, irrespective of a resin component, could be induced mechanically, and that the irritability caused by continuous glass filaments with resin could be slight and either mechanical or chemical.

Do insulation products of man-made vitreous fibres still cause skin discomfort?

BACKGROUND

Man-made vitreous fibres (MMVFs) are used in products for insulation and as reinforcement in materials. Contamination of the skin may arise through direct or indirect contact, and from the deposition of airborne fibres. The scientific basis regarding the effects on skin of MMVFs dates from 1970-1980.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate whether currently used insulation MMVF products still cause skin discomfort.

METHODS

Focus group interviews and structured interviews were performed among workers engaged in insulation tasks and among do-it-yourself consumers with a recent experience of MMVF products.

RESULTS

A majority of interviewees experienced skin discomfort when handling MMVF products. Complaints caused by traditional (yellow) glass fibre products were more severe than those caused by products of rock or slag wool fibres. The wrists, forearms, neck and face were the locations where the skin was most affected. The situations causing problems varied between occupational tasks, but working with the hands over the head or in narrow spaces were described as the worst situations. Building construction apprentices performed insulation tasks more often than senior workers.

CONCLUSIONS

MMVF insulation products do still cause skin discomfort. Updated knowledge about people's experiences of work with such products should influence legislation.

Glass fiber dermatitis

Many workers exposed to glass fibers experience an intense pruritus (itching), sometimes accompanied by erythema, erosions, and dermatitis. Patch tests to glass fibers provoked a papulovesicular dermatitis in about 25% of normal persons. Workers in the glass wool industry, whether or not clinically symptomatic, had the same levels of patch-test reactivity. A battery of skin tests failed to identify persons with an increased susceptibility to glass fiber pruritus. Some workers' skin becomes hardened by continuous exposure. This hardening is lost after a one-month holiday but is quickly regained. Barrier creams had no protective value in preventing glass fiber dermatitis.