The latest issue of the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety newsletter has an excellent article on skin disease in the workplace. It's really worth a read and can be found here.
Skin diseases cost up to $1 Billion annually
Your skin is the largest organ of your body, therefore it is important to keep it healthy and strong throughout your life. That being said, 15%-20% of occupational diseases reported in the United States are skin diseases according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) resulting in costs of up to $1 billion annually.
Contact dermatitis comes in two main forms: irritant and allergic.
80% of contact dermatitis cases are irritant contact dermatitis, with the remaining 20% being allergic cases. Dermatitis is caused by direct skin contact with harmful chemicals or agents. Symptoms may arise after a few or multiple exposures, and can be exacerbated by having dry skin, working in wet conditions, or low humidity environments.
Symptoms of inflammation can manifest as dry, red, itchy, swollen, flaking, blistering, cracking skin and/or painful sensations. Symptoms can be similar for irritant and allergic types, however, an allergy can take more exposures to manifest and after an allergy is formed only slight exposure can cause a flair-up. These workers may need to be moved away from the hazardous material permanently.
Prevention & action
Fields ranging from construction, to work in the chemical & petroleum industry, to health care are prone to chemical exposure and cases of occupational dermatitis.
The Canadian right-to-know legislation (WHMIS - Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System) requires that employers inform workers of any hazardous substances they may come contact with and what safety precautions are to be observed.
When safer, non-hazardous solutions cannot be implemented, keep agents confined to a limited area with proper ventilation, and maintain good housekeeping and cleaning procedures.
Limit worker exposure when possible, require gloves and protective wear that are suitable for the chemicals you work with, promote adequate hand washing (though this may exacerbate symptoms), and provide hand creams for after work.
If contamination occurs employers are responsible for taking actions to preserve worker safety. This may include removing the worker from the exposure area or using gear that provides more protection.
In addition to the newsletter article, CCOHS also provides free WHMIS Classifications for chemicals, and a number of other resources.
As the article in the newsletter states - learn to protect the skin you're in; you'll be wearing it for the rest of your life.
Related courses - Online WHMIS Training.
