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Exposure of the Skin to Methyl Bromide: A Study of Six Cases Occupationally Exposed to High Concentrations during Fumigation

National Poison Control Center of the National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Hygiene, P. O. Box 1, 3720 BA, Bilthoven, Department of Reanimation and Clinical Toxicology, University Hospital Utrecht

W.L.A.M. de Kort

Directorate General of Labor, Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment

J. Meulenbelt

National Poison Control Center of the National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Hygiene, P. O. Box 1, 3720 BA, Bilthoven, Department of Reanimation and Clinical Toxicology, University Hospital Utrecht

M. Hezemans-Boer

Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Utrecht, The Netherlands

W.A. van Vloten

Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Utrecht, The Netherlands

B. Sangster

National Poison Control Center of the National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Hygiene, P. O. Box 1, 3720 BA, Bilthoven, Department of Reanimation and Clinical Toxicology, University Hospital Utrecht

1 The effects of exposure of the skin to high concentrations of methyl bromide were studied in 6 cases, who had been unintentionally exposed.

2 Exposure to high concentrations of methyl bromide (approximately 40 g/m³) for 40 min can lead to redness and blistering of the skin. This cannot be prevented by wearing standard protective clothing.

3 Skin lesions show a preference for relatively moist skin areas.

4 Plasma bromide levels were highest immediately following exposure (mean 9.0 ± 1.4 mg/l) and fell in subsequent hours (mean 6.8 ± 2.3 mg/l 12 h after the exposure), suggesting absorption of (methyl) bromide through the skin.

5 No systemic effects were noted in this series.

6 Fumigation with methyl bromide should not be done in such a way as to require the presence of workers inside closed areas, where methyl bromide is released.

Human & Experimental Toxicology, Vol. 6, No. 6, 491-495 (1987)
DOI: 10.1177/096032718700600607


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