This is one of series of review articles on formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasers (others: formaldehyde in cosmetics, in clothes and in metalworking fluids and miscellaneous). Thirty-five chemicals were identified as being formaldehyde-releasers. Although a further seven are listed in the literature as formaldehyde-releasers, data are inadequate to consider them as such beyond doubt. Several (nomenclature) mistakes and outdated information are discussed. Formaldehyde and formaldehyde allergy are reviewed: applications, exposure scenarios, legislation, patch testing problems, frequency of sensitization, relevance of positive patch test reactions, clinical pattern of allergic contact dermatitis from formaldehyde, prognosis, threshold for elicitation of allergic contact dermatitis, analytical tests to determine formaldehyde in products and frequency of exposure to formaldehyde and releasers. The frequency of contact allergy to formaldehyde is consistently higher in the USA (8-9%) than in Europe (2-3%). Patch testing with formaldehyde is problematic; the currently used 1% solution may result in both false-positive and false-negative (up to 40%) reactions. Determining the relevance of patch test reactions is often challenging. What concentration of formaldehyde is safe for sensitive patients remains unknown. Levels of 200-300 p.p.m. free formaldehyde in cosmetic products have been shown to induce dermatitis from short-term use on normal skin. Formaldehyde is a common cause of contact allergy. In Europe, 2-3% of patients suspected of contact dermatitis have positive patch test reactions, and in the USA prevalence rates of sensitization of 8-9% are reported in this selected group of patients. Allergic contact dermatitis caused by formaldehyde is often chronic, presumably because it is difficult to avoid exposure to the allergen completely. Indeed, formaldehyde may be found in many cosmetics, toiletries, household products such as washing and cleaning agents and in a great number of industrial applications including adhesives, paints, lacquers and metalworking fluids. Often, the products are not preserved with formaldehyde itself, but with agents that release formaldehyde under usage conditions, the so-called formaldehydereleasers (or formaldehyde donors). Well-known examples are quaternium-15, imidazolidinyl urea, diazolidinyl urea, DMDM hydantoin and 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol, preservatives frequently used in cosmetic products. Industrial products such as metalworking fluids frequently contain formaldehyde donors, such as the Bioban ® product range of biocides and tris(N-hydroxyethyl) hexahydrotriazine (better known by its trade name Grotan ® BK).Other products containing and releasing formaldehyde are the formaldehyde resins including urea formaldehyde and melamine formaldehyde resins. These were formerly used extensively as textile

BackgroundA systematic attempt to summarize the literature that examines working conditions and occupational health among immigrant in Europe and Canada.MethodsWe established inclusion criteria, searched systematically for articles included in the Medline, Embase and Social Sciences Citation Index databases in the period 2000–2016 and checked the reference lists of all included papers.ResultsEighty-two studies were included in this review; 90% were cross-sectional and 80% were based on self-report. Work injuries were consistently found to be more prevalent among immigrants in studies from different countries and in studies with different designs. The prevalence of perceived discrimination or bullying was found to be consistently higher among immigrant workers than among natives. In general, however, we found that the evidence that immigrant workers are more likely to be exposed to physical or chemical hazards and poor psychosocial working conditions is very limited. A few Scandinavian studies support the idea that occupational factors may partly contribute to the higher risk of sick leave or disability pension observed among immigrants. However, the evidence for working conditions as a potential mediator of the associations between immigrant status and poor general health and mental distress was very limited.ConclusionSome indicators suggest that immigrant workers in Europe and Canada experience poorer working conditions and occupational health than do native workers. However, the ability to draw conclusions is limited by the large gaps in the available data, heterogeneity of immigrant working populations, and the lack of prospectively designed cohort studies.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-018-5703-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Occupational skin diseases are frequent in the healthcare sector. The objective of this study was to obtain baseline data on hand eczema and risk factors for hand eczema in an unselected hospital population. A questionnaire study on hand eczema and risk factors for hand eczema was performed among hospital employees at a middle-size Danish hospital. A total of 1909 employees from all job groups and all departments were included. Response rate was 65.3%. The overall frequency of self-reported hand eczema within the past 12 months was 23%. Divided into job groups, the frequencies varied from 8% to 32% and were significantly higher among assistant nurses (32%), nurses (30%), and nursing aids (27%). For the individual departments, the hand eczema frequencies varied from 7% to 50%, with the highest frequencies reported at medical and surgical wards. Occupational risk factors for hand eczema such as use of protective gloves and hand washing were significantly more frequent among respondents with hand eczema within the past year, which suggests a potential for prevention through workplace interventions. In conclusion, high frequencies of hand eczema were observed among assistant nurses, nurses, and nursing aids. Hand eczema was more frequent among women and in the younger age groups.

Preservatives are common causes of contact allergy and contact dermatitis. Exposure to cosmetics, personal care products, consumer products and occupationally used products often involve contact with the same range of preservatives. The aim of this study is to provide an overview on the occurrence of preservatives in registered chemical products. The studied preservatives included substances from standard patch test series and other preservatives relevant for registered chemical products. Data obtained from the Danish Product Register Database (PROBAS) in January 2005 were compared to similar data from January 2002. Paints/lacquers, cleaning agents and printing inks were the most frequently registered product categories, and the studied preservatives were registered in most of the product categories included in the study. For most product categories the total number of registered products was stable during the study period. Butylated hydroxytoluene, benzoic acid, isothiazolinones, Bronopol and formaldehyde showed an increase from 2002 to 2005. Most of these changes occurred in the product category paints/lacquers, for which a doubling mainly due to a change in registration practice was observed. The frequent registration of isothiazolinones (MCI/MI and benzisothiazolinone) in paints/lacquers may be a possible explanation for the relative high and stable frequency of positive patch test reactions to MCI/MI.

Isothiazolinones are present in multiple products registered for use at workplaces, and may occur in high concentrations.