Guys breaking out in shop. Coolant?

[Shotout]

We have a few people breaking out in our shop and I was wondering if you guys could provide some opinions experiences on the subject. We are using a synthetic coolant (grinding fluid actually) Wallover WS8000 at a 9-11% concentration. We are machining castings, malleable cast iron, and some of the operators are breaking out. After talking with the salesman he claims it is the gloves the guys are wearing not the coolant, nitrile palms (Ansell), holding moisture on their hands causing the problem and not the coolant. Says they don't have that problem anywhere else he sells that particular brand and product. I'm thinking that since this coolant tends to pull oil/grease out of the machines then perhaps they are stripping the moisture and oils from their skin and then wearing damp sweaty gloves is causing what is basically a heat rash. My idea was to give them all some gold bond medicate cream and change from lava soap to a soap with a moisturizer in it. What kind of experiences etc have you guys had with something like this?

Coolant link is http://http://www.walloveroil.com/WS%208000.htm

[stuby]

Well, Im sure its not much help, but at my shop my brother was having the same problems in his CNC mill. I know it was a synthetic water based coolant, but really dont know much else. We machined all kinds of metals, I cant see the metal being the issue. Anyways just wanted to let you know that I have seen the same problem.

[CarbideBob]

Two very non-intuitive things I've learned about dermatitis (rashes from coolant).
1) Gloves make the problem worse. They don't allow the skin to breathe and any contamination already in the skin is trapped.
2) Washing your hands too often is usually the cause of the problem.
Strong soaps (like Lava) remove moisture from your skin. Then you go back to your machine and the natural oils in your skin are replaced by coolant.
If you don't need to wash your hands wipe them off with paper towel or a rag.

Here in Michigan it's a big problem in the wintertime when your skin is dried out.

I have two types of soap, Camay moisturizing soap for normal washing and a strong industrial soap for use only when you really need it. If you use the strong stuff wash with the mild stuff afterwards.

We have a bottle of cornhuskers lotion at the sink to use if your hands are dried out.

Once this rash develops it can be very difficult to get rid of unless you can limit your exposure to the coolant for a month or so.
Bob

[ImanCarrot]

We use medical examination gloves all the time here. If you use them all day you will get a skin rash- usualy on the reverse of your knuckles (the bendy bits) and between the fingers, a kind of craked skin rash which is really itchy and the more you scratch the worse it gets (from experience!).

I think it's the gloves.

Using barier cream or moisturiser don't help- your hands sweat and the gloves become slippy on the inside causing you to drop whatever your handling (usualy a bloody expensive lens in my case!)

Always go for powder free gloves- or change the type of glove- some folk are allergic to the chemicals in the gloves.

[m_c]

I can't speak about the coolant, but can about gloves.

We use disposable nitrile gloves at work, and they cause my hands to dry out if I sweat a lot. I find if my hands sweat a lot, and then I take the gloves off, my skin will dry out and become rough. During the summer it isn't too bad, but during the winter when skin tends to be drier anyway, I can end up with the skin cracking/itching/bleeding.
However, putting on some moisturising cream will clear it up within a day or so.

I'd suggest providing moisturising cream for use after they've washed their hands, as barrier cream under gloves doesn't work very well.

[ImanCarrot]

Just back from lunch (two pints of lager and a packet of crisps) and I remembered what I should have added to my previous post.

Make sure the gloves are "Protein Free".

We used gloves that weren't about 10 years ago and everyone had symptoms like the poster above- cracked, bleeding, itchy hands. When we changed it improved things a lot.

The ones we use now are from Bodyguards, in the UK. There will be a US equivalent. It's called "Latex Textured Medical Examination Gloves" and I have had no problems with them.

Part No:GL8803
E-Mail: Info@BodyGuardsGloves.Co.Uk

Oh, I'm not connected with the company, just recommending as an engineer to an engineer.

PS: Remember that a small percentage of the population are allergic to latex as well (serious).

[HuFlungDung]

I'd recommend using a gel type hand cleaner instead of soap, if you wash many times per day. Limit the use of soap to times when your hands need to be really clean and apply a lotion right after a soap wash.
Also using an air dryer helps keep your skin in better shape than constantly rubbing on towels.

[cam1]

ImanCarrot: tell me that you are not going near a machine tool after lunch.
Otherwise you may not need to worry about even wearing gloves.

regards

[ImanCarrot]

lol no way!

Friday afternoons are "catch up on paperwork", project Meetings and "clean the lab ready for Monday" time.

[cam1]

Added benefit: It loosens the lips a bit too, and makes it easier to tell the project managers that they are full of "%$^ in the project meetings. Either that or you catch up on some sleep...I try to avoid meetings, as I prefer doing over talking.

regards

[WOLOG]

I have used the Wallover coolant. I liked the clear blue color but it was sticky and made my hands itch all the time. The coolant guy told me it wasn't the coolant too. We are using Kool Rite as of right now. It works fine so far.

[Geof]

Originally Posted by ImanCarrot lol no way!.....

Glad to hear that.

When I was an apprentice in New Zealand one of the lathe operators had that type of lunch and in the afternoon managed to put a file into the ball of his thumb and six inches up his arm, on the inside!