Skin Reaction to Methyl Bromide

Six patients were occupationally exposed to high concentrations of methyl bromide during a fumigation procedure using adequate airway protection.  Within a few hours all patients developed skin lesions, consisting of sharply demarcated erythema with multiple vesicles and large bullae.  There was a striking predisposition for parts of the skin that were relatively moist of subject to mechnical pressure, such as axillae, groin, and abdomen.  Microscopically, early skin lesions revealed necrosis of keratinocytes, severe edema of the upper dermis, subepidermal blistering, and diffuse infiltration of neutrophils and, to a lesser extent, eosinophils.  Two patients developed an urticarial rash approximately one week after the exposure.  Upon histological examination, these late lesions showed combined features of a spongiotic dermatitis and urticaria. No immunopathologic manifestations were observed.  In all patients, the skin returned to normal after four weeks, except for some residual hyperpigmentation.  Plasma bromide levels after exposure strongly suggested percutaneous absorption of methyl bromide.

(It is probable that methyl bromide gas is absorbed through the skin, thereby causing severe skin burns that heal after 4 weeks except for some skin darkening.  This is of concern to conservators doing methyl bromide fumigation.  It is clear that complete skin protection is needed as well as adequate respiratory protection. -Ed. )

The preceding abstract was reprinted with permission from Section 35, Occupational Health and Industrial Medicine, of Excerpta Medica.

Skin lesions due to exposure to methyl bromide - Hezemans-Boer M., Toonstra J., Meulenbelt J. et al. – Department of Dermatology, State Univeristy Hospital, Utrecht NLD - ARCH. DERMATOL. 1988 124/6 (917-921).

Art Hazard News, Volume 11, No. 9, 1988

This article was originally printed for Art Hazard News, © copyright Center for Safety in the Arts 1988. It appears on CAR courtesy of the Health in the Arts Program, University of Illinois at Chicago, who have curated a collection of these articles from their archive which are still relevant to artists today.