OCCUPATIONAL ASTHMA AND RHINITIS CAUSED BY 1,2-BENZISOTHIAZOLIN-3-ONEIN A CHEMICAL WORKER

(W)e report a case of occupational asthma and rhinitis caused by inhal ation of 1,2-benzisothiazolin-3-one, an additive used as a microbicida l in detergent production, in a 26-year-old man employed in a chemical factory producing detergents. The subject's task consisted of pouring raw materials into the recipient of a machine which mixed the substan ces. Two months after the beginning of this job the patient complained of rhinitis and asthma at the workplace. The specific challenge test with 1,2-benzisothiazolin-3-one, one of the raw materials to which the subject was exposed, provoked an immediate prolonged asthmatic respon se and nasal symptoms, whereas exposure to other agents (e.g., alpha-a mylase, alcalase or bezalkonium chloride) to which the patient was als o exposed at work did not. To our knowledge this is the first case of occupational asthma and rhinitis caused by this compound.