HAND DERMATITIS AND ALLERGIC PATCH TEST REACTIONS CAUSED BY NICKEL INELECTROPLATERS

A worksite survey was conducted in all 38 Finnish electroplating plant s. All workers (n=163) who worked with nickel plating (bath workers, h angers and solution makers) were interviewed with a questionnaire abou t symptoms of nickel dermatitis, hand dermatitis, and about protective measures, atopy, etc. Patch testing with nickel sulfate was done with the TRUE Test(TM) method. All the workers, 94 men and 69 women, answe red the questionnaire. The mean age of women was 41.1 years, and of me n 43.1 years, respectively. Men had longer occupational exposure to ni ckel (14 years) than women (10 years). Most workers used protective gl oves. 35% of women and 30% of men reported present or past hand dermat osis. 19% reported a history of atopic dermatitis. 15% of women (n=8) and 4% (n=2) of men had an allergic patch test reaction to nickel sulf ate. 70% of those with an allergic patch test reaction to nickel repor ted past or present hand eczema. The prevalence of nickel allergy amon g the electroplaters was similar to that of patients in patch test cli nics in Finland. An allergic patch test reaction to nickel sulfate doe s not necessarily oblige an electroplater to change jobs. (C) Munksgaa rd, 1997.