Skin Contamination

Many chemicals can cause skin irritation and many, including pesticides, can be absorbed into the body through the skin. Often skin contamination arises from tasks such as spraying or painting where the chemical may:

• Land on unprotected skin.
• Leak around or through protective clothing.
• Come into contact with skin when protective clothing is removed.

This has obvious implications for worker health, therefore good occupational hygiene practices are essential.

Biological monitoring can be used to assess exposure by all routes and is especially useful when skin exposure is likely or possible.

The Fluorescence Interaction Video Exposure System (FIVES) developed by the Health and Safety Laboratory can measure skin contamination directly using a fluorescent dye as a quantitative tracer. FIVES is an excellent method for demonstrating to workers whether they are using their protective clothing properly and for quantifying the extent of any skin contamination present.

FIVES works by detecting a fluorescent dye which is used instead of, or added to, the chemical of interest. The worker then performs his/her normal tasks. Ultraviolet light makes the dye glow on the skin and, by carefully controlling the lighting fields, FIVES measures the intensity of the glow and calculates the amount of dye present. The dye shows up well, even at very low concentrations. The unique feature of FIVES is its dodecahedral lighting system which allows the fluorescent dye to be illuminated evenly with ultraviolet light. An image processor and a video camera are used to store images and calculate the amount of dye on the skin.

Applications
• An effective aid to communicating health risks.
• Training in the use of protective equipment.
• Identifying causes and sources of chemical exposure.

Relevant References
Brooke, I., Cocker, J., Delic, J. I., Payne, M., Jones, K., Gregg, N. C., Dyne, D.
(1998) Dermal uptake of solvents from the vapour phase: an experimental study in humans. Annals of Occupational Hygiene. 42 (8), 531-540.

Jones, K., Cocker, J., Dodd, L.J., Fraser, I.
(2003) Factors affecting the extent of dermal absorption of solvent vapours: a human volunteer study. Annals of Occupational Hygiene, 47, (2), 145-150.

Further Details
Contact our Business Development Unit by telephone (+44) 01298 218218, fax (+44) 01298 218822 or email hslinfo@hsl.gov.uk.

  Back to the top