Dermatitis is a blanket term meaning any “inflammation of the skin" (e.g. rashes, etc). There are several different types of dermatitis. Dermatitis is usually caused by a reaction to a specific substance.

1. Health, Safety and Environment
Weekly Safety Review 20 SIMS awaiting
First Aid Recordable
Managers Comments
No. injuries ytd 10 3
Injury rate ytd 2.02 0.29
No. days worked since 4 Injury
Injury
last OSHA recordable (19/8/10) Performance
Issue Date : 31/08/10 INJURY
No. days worked since 4 THS
INJURY
last RIDDOR injury (19/8/10) WEK
FREE
Take care of your skin - Health & Hygiene WEEK
1
What is Dermatitis?
Dermatitis is a blanket term meaning any “inflammation of the skin" (e.g. rashes, etc.). There are
several different types of dermatitis. Dermatitis is usually caused by a reaction to a specific
substance.
What is work related contact dermatitis?
The main signs and symptoms are:
Dryness
Redness
Itching
Flaking/Scaling
Cracking/Blistering
Pain
Dermatitis is not contagious - it can’t be passed from one person to another. It can develop at any
time, or not at all - everyone is different.
There are two types of contact dermatitis: irritant contact dermatitis & allergic contact dermatitis.
Irritant contact dermatitis - can flare up after a few contacts with strong chemicals like bleach.
More commonly it develops gradually through frequent wet working or working with milder
chemicals.
Allergic contact dermatitis - can develop quickly after only a few contacts with a milder
substances. Sometimes it can take months or even years for the allergy to develop. Once you are
allergic, you are allergic for life and this could happen at any time, even if you have had no
problems previously in your career.
With allergic contact dermatitis, the things you can become allergic to at work might well also be in
things you use at home - like your shampoo, or your household cleaners. If you become allergic to
something it could well affect all aspects of your life.
Precautions to protect your skin
Sembcorp promote a healthy work environment for it’s employees and contractors. We provide
washroom facilities with barrier cream, hand cleaner and soaps, and reconditioning creams in
areas where workers can expect to be in contact with substances that could contaminate the skin.
Showers are also provided.
Gloves and other protective clothing are available to keep substances away from your skin. Heavily
contaminated or gloves with holes in must be replaced. You must have your overalls and other
work wear laundered at an appropriate frequency to prevent build up of contaminants which could
impregnate your skin. Laundry facilities are provided, and must be used for flame retardant work
wear such as overalls. You must not take your overalls home for washing as this damages the
flame retardancy of the garment, and has in the past lead to spreading of contaminated materials.
Everyone should wash their hands prior to consuming food or drink.

2. What you can do about it ……… Use the APC approach.
Avoid direct contact between unprotected hands and substances, products and wet work
where this is sensible and practical, for instance:
• Get rid of the substance/product/wet work altogether
• Substitute the product/substance for something less harmful
• Introduce controls (such as tools or equipment) to keep a safe working distance
between skin and substances/products/wet work
Protect the skin. Avoiding contact will not always be possible so:
• Provide suitable personal protective equipment such as gloves
• Make sure you use the right gloves to protect from the hazard
• Use mild skin cleaning cream that will do the job and washing facilities with hot and cold water
• Wash hands before eating and drinking, and before wearing gloves
• Wash any contamination from the skin promptly
• Discard contaminated gloves, and make sure overalls etc. are clean / laundered
• Protect the skin by moisturising as often as possible and particularly at the end of the day as
this replaces the natural oils that help keep the skin’s protective barrier working properly
• Use suitable pre-work creams
Check hands regularly for the first signs of itchy, dry or red skin:
• When skin problems are spotted early, they can be treated, which can stop them from getting
too bad
• Seek advice from your doctor if you suspect that you may have skin problems