Snapshot of cobalt, chromium and nickel exposure in dental technicians

Abstract

Dental technicians were exposed to Co, Cr and Ni on the skin and through the air, which was not reflected in the urine concentrations in this study. Cobalt skin doses may potentially elicit allergic contact dermatitis and cause sensitization.

Contamination of skin and surfaces by cobalt in the hard metal industry

“…We used a similar protocol to describe cobalt skin exposure in dental technicians, which was 10 times lower on average. 12 The amount of cobalt on skin in the hard metal industry was found to be higher than in the production of space propulsion and surface contamination in a hard metal production facility, and showed that cobalt was transferred to skin from contaminated surfaces during routine work activities. 15 However, the results are not directly comparable with the results of our study, owing to different sampling methods, differences in glove use, and the fact that the workers were allowed to wash their hands in the study by Day et al…”

“…This sampling strategy was selected to enable the comparison with skin exposure to metals in other occupational exposure studies. We used a similar protocol to describe cobalt skin exposure in dental technicians, which was 10 times lower on average . The amount of cobalt on skin in the hard metal industry was found to be higher than in the production of space propulsion components and some other occupations .…”

“…The cobalt content in the acid wipe samples was analysed with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (iCAP Q; Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, Massachusetts), according to the procedure described in Kettelarij et al 12 Cobalt was monitored at mass 59; indium was used as an internal standard (5 μg/L) and monitored at mass 115. The limits of detection (3 times the SD of acid blank samples) for analysis of samples in 2 batches were 0.015 and 0.027 μg/L.…”

“…Measurements of cobalt on skin, deposited by contact with metallic items and materials, have been performed in various occupational groups, [11][12][13][14] and have shown that skin doses frequently exceed the ED 10 value. In these studies, no information is available on how skin comes into contact with cobalt other than by direct handling of cobalt-containing items or materials.…”

Nickel allergy and allergic contact dermatitis: A clinical review of immunology, epidemiology, exposure, and treatment

“…By the use of this method after coin handling, nickel skin contamination was found to be directly proportional to the duration of coin rubbing, although considerable interindividual variation existed . Acid wipe sampling has been used to measure the nickel skin surface dose with high accuracy in some occupations and in experimental studies (recovery of >90%) . A self‐sampling method, based on the acid wipe technique, was recently developed .…”