Two cases of occupational contact allergy to antimicrobial agents used as preservative agents in cutting oil were described. A 45 year old woman grinder with a history of 8 years of exposure to cutting oil developed an eczematous condition on the back of the hands, which cleared up when the worker was removed from exposure, only to recur when she resumed work. Patch testing yielded a positive reaction to cutting oil and its antimicrobial additives Bioban-CS-1246 (5-ethyl-1-aza-3.7-dioxabicyclo-3,3,0-octane), Bioban-P-1487 (37304884) (a mixture of 4-(2-nitrobutyl)-morpholine and 4,4'-(2-ethyl-2-nitrotrimethylene)-dimorpholine), and Bioban-CS-1248 (a mixture of Bioban-CS-1246 and Bioban-P-1487). Negative reactions were obtained to 18 other substances used in oils. The second case, a 44 year old foreman with a 14 year history of constant contact with cutting oils, had eczema of the fingers for 4 years. The condition cleared up during vacations, only to resume upon the resumption of work. Positive reactions were recorded to formaldehyde (50000), thiuram (137268) and and two formaldehyde releasers, Grotan-BK and Grotan-OD, which were present in some of the cutting oils used by the man. Positive reactions were also obtained to Bioban-CS-1248 and Bioban-Cs-1246, but the presence of these agents in cutting oil was not certain. All three preservative agents showed the presence of formaldehyde on testing, and the author suggests that the second patient is sensitive to formaldehyde, while the first is sensitive to the preservative compounds or contaminants, since she had a negative skin test to formaldehyde.
