Acrylate Allergies

12/10/96

Dear Colleagues:

One of our customers has had a rather strong allergic reaction during the

handling and use of two embedding media simultaneously. One of the products

was Unicryl and the other, Technovet. I am very concerned about the

prevalence of such allergic reactions with acrylates, and am presently

attempting to gather all pertinent literature and/or subscriber experiences

with acrylate allergies.

A literature search on MEDLINE has revealed only one paper describing

contact dermatitis reaction to Lowicryl, but many papers concerning the

allergies to methacrylates used as adhesives by the dental profession and

for cosmetic purposes.

I would appreciate learning of any experiences of the members and to receive

any pertinent references regarding allergies to acrylate embedding media.

Regards, Don Cox

Donald P. Cox, Ph.D., M.B.A.

GOLDMARK BIOLOGICALS/D.P. COX ASSOCIATES

437 Lock Street, Phillipsburg, NJ 08865-2764

(908) 859-2631 - - (908) 859-2875-FAX

E-Mail: goldmrkr@fast.net/goldmarker@aol.com

Web Page: http://members.aol.com/goldmarker

~~~"Goldmarking is everlasting probing!"~~~

Dear Don

My predecessor here had a lot of problems using watyer

soluble Durcupan resin. He manifested what we now realise

was contact dermatitis, with skin blemishing, cracking and

peeling. He was also sensitive to the cured blocks, at least

certainly to their dust (we used to cure in ice cube trays and

then cut specimens out with a hacksaw for mounting prior to

ultramicrotomy as routine).

With best wishes - Keith Ryan

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Keith Ryan B.Sc., Ph.D., C.Biol., M.I.Biol.

Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Citadel Hill,

Plymouth, Devon PL1 2PB, England

Tel: ++44 1752 633294 (international)

01752 633294 (national)

Fax: ++44 1752 633102 (international)

01752 633102 (national)

e-mail: k.ryan@pml.ac.uk

PML web site: http://www.npm.ac.uk/pml

Don

have you got this reference? It seems to be a key one referring to several

others:

Tobler, M. and Freiburghaus (1990); Occupational risks of (meth)acrylate

compounds in embedding media for electron microscopy

Journal of Microscopy 160: 291-298

Good luck in your search.

Malcolm Haswell

University of Sunderland

e-mail es0mhs@environment.sunderland.ac.uk

Don,

I don't know what to tell you except that this allergy is common, I am

severly allergic to Lowicryl, and have been told that if I'm exposed to it

again on my hands, I may lose the use of my hands. It took me 6 months to

get the feeling back in my finger tips, and my fingers were so bad they

were purple black. Also, the fumes from methacrylates etc is of no help to

my chronic asthma.

I usually run into someone with the same problem in the Histology / EM

field where ever I go.

We ordered the only gloves we found impermiable, H-4 Gloves from Monsanto,

but they are very ackward to work in.

Lou Ann

lamiller@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu

Dear Don,

I have personal experience with methyl methacrylate contact

allergies. Years ago, when I was taught how to embed and section JB-4

(from Polyscienses), I was told that the solutions could cause a poison

ivy-like reaction if I got it on my skin. My teacher, however chose not

to were gloves, so neither did I. After a couple of months of continuous

use, I developed the worst reaction that you could imagine. The fingers

that had been in contact with the liquid form of the acrylic started to

itch and burn, deep inside the flesh. Next, my fingers swelled to the

size of a meaty hotdog and itched like crazy. Any attempt to even touch

then sent sharp pains through my hand. I took antihistamines as soon as

the reaction started and applied ointment for two days before the reaction

was over. After that episode, I accidently touched the solid form once

or twice and scrubbed my hands immediately and at length And took some

more antihistamines. Still, I got a minor reaction that lasted a day

each time.

Now, about 10 years later, I still use JB-4 for alot of our

samples, but I Always were gloves, and glasses when I'm arround it and I

always wipe

down work surfaces when I'm finished for the day. I have not had another

even minor reaction for at least the last 5 years and never one as bad as

the first.

The reactions to these acrylics can be quite painfull, but

many of the other embedding medias available are carcinogenic, with no

early warnings. At least

with this material, I know immediately when I've gotten too careless with my

safety precautions.

kna101@utdallas.edu

Karen Pawlowski

>i do not recall her name off hand, but if you contact rmc,inc

>tucson,arizona,(they probably have a web page) and ask who was their

>biological instructor at their ultra microtomy conference this year in

>oct . I specifically remember, and i was surprised that she repeatedly

>cautioned the group about similar severe allergy-proned

>individual-reactions being rather common. I believe she also may be

>linked to this newsgroup and may reply directly.

I'm that instructor. I don't have any specific medical information; just

the sort of word-of-mouth stories that are appearing here (which I'm saving

for next year's Materials Microtomy course!). I'd appreciate comments from

knowledgable MDs. I know that I read a paper some years ago about similar

reactions to the acrylic resins used to cement metal joints into bone in

orthopaedic surgery...

Caroline Schooley

Educational Outreach Coordinator

Microscopy Society of America

Box 117

Caspar, CA 95420

Phone/FAX (707)964-9460

schooley@mcn.org

http://www.MSA.microscopy.com/ProjectMicro/Books.html

Hi:

I myself have through the years developed a reaction to acrylates. My

field is polymers and I am frequently in contact with acrylates. The

monomer is the problem not the polymer. Wear gloves and always work in

the hood. If you do get exposed wash or shower as soon as possible. The

reaction is cumulative and becomes worse with each exposure.

Good luck

ols0@lehigh.edu

Olga L. Shaffer

Hi,

Here at IBM, there is a fairly extensive Industrial Safety and Hygiene

program. In our training classes, it was explained to us that epoxies,

etc., are "sensitizers" as are Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, and Poison Sumac.

Some people may have a reaction on their first exposure. Others may

have a reaction after repeated exposures have "sensitized" them. The

reactions will most likely increase in sevearity with each additional

exposure. There are a few that never show a reaction. I know people

that were never affected by Poison Ivy when they were children, but

had severe reactions when exposed as an adult.

Precautions during use (what we are required to do):

* The resins and hardeners are stored in a vented cabinet.

* Weighing, mixing, and sitting to cure are done in a vented hood.

*** Protective Appearal ***

*** Nitrile Gloves - eg. Nitrilite by Ansell Edmont

Note: Latex gloves were not accepted

* Goggles

* Plastic Chemical Apron

Hope this helps.

Darrell Miles

darrell_miles@vnet.ibm.com

IBM Analytical and Test Services

http://www.chips.ibm.com/services/asg/

Dear Colleagues -

About a month ago I asked for experiences with allergy experiences when

using acrylate embedding media. I received the responses below. I will be

sending several editions as there are many and I have had difficulties with

my e-mail server...too big a gulp, I guess...

I used Lowicryl for a brief time, while waiting for funding for a cryokit.

I developed a pretty good contact dermatitis/allergic reaction within a few

uses, precluding me using it. Also I found the smell very allergenic (runny

nose etc) Luckily I got the cryokit, and was able to return to a NON

allergenic system (sugar!) very soon. Since then I have been convinced that

the acrylics are bad news..... Good luck with your investigations.

Simon

Their was a program on NOVA that concerned itself with Sick Building

Syndrome. It covered several people in a hospital environment that aquired

hyper-allergies from the gloves and chemicals used. You might want to check

the references that the film used... It was a good..... Check with WGBH in

Boston (PBS Station) for more information on the film.....

I have seen several technicians and operators become sick from the fumes from

roughing pumps and from Freon that is widely used.. Anyone of us could be

next with the wide variety of chemical we use and the increasing amount of

contact we have....

Walter Protheroe

Over the years, I have picked up some sense of the way these different

acrylics seem to act on different persons.

The Lowicryl resins seem to be the worst, and LRWhite (and I thought up

until now, also Unicryl) the least reactive. Technovit I have not had any

knowledge about.

Chuck

My predecessor here had a lot of problems using watyer

soluble Durcupan resin. He manifested what we now realise

was contact dermatitis, with skin blemishing, cracking and

peeling. He was also sensitive to the cured blocks, at least

certainly to their dust (we used to cure in ice cube trays and

then cut specimens out with a hacksaw for mounting prior to

ultramicrotomy as routine).

With best wishes - Keith Ryan

Don,

I realize that you asked about acrylic plastics, but just as a note: my

former supervisor in a clinical EM lab had a strong contact allergy to

uncured epoxy plastics. We had to be careful not to leave residue where she

could come in contact with it, she'd break out in blisters in about 15 min.

Doug