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An apparent outbreak of turpentine allergy in pottery workers was examined. Twenty four pottery workers with hand dermatitis were evaluated at a dermatology clinic over a 6 month period. The patients had been employed in decorating ceramic products and their dermatitis had developed following a switchover from Portuguese-turpentine to Indonesian-turpentine. The patients were patch tested with the European standard allergen series, samples of materials they brought from their workplaces, Indonesian-turpentine, Portuguese-turpentine, and alpha-pinene, delta-3-carene, dipentene, aniseed-oil, aniseed-turpentine, and turpentine peroxides, components of turpentine. Fourteen patients reacted to Indonesian-turpentine, of which three also reacted to Portuguese-turpentine. Eight reacted to alpha-pinene, four to delta-3-carene, and two reacted to turpentine peroxides. Five patients also reacted to nickel in the European standard allergen series. The authors conclude that the results of patch testing this group of patients indicate that turpentine can still be an important cause of occupational allergic contact dermatitis. Since alpha-pinene is the major component of Indonesian-turpentine, it appears that these patients have a specific alpha-pinene allergy. Switching back to Portuguese-turpentine in the patients' workplaces has alleviated this probelem.
Contact Dermatitis, 35(3):169-172, 1996. (16 references)
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