Prevention of chromate eczema caused by cement and leather

Historically, allergic contact dermatitis caused by chromate in cement, was the most common cause of invalidity due to skin disease in Sweden. Today, we almost never see any eczema caused by chromate allergy within the construction sector. This is due to research conducted in our group in the 70ies which led to the Discovery that the allergic form of chromium (hexavalent chromium) in cement could be transformed into a form that do not cause allergy by adding a reducing agent. In EU it has been compulsory by law since 2005 to add such a reducing agent to cement. However, chromate eczema is still a large problem within the Construction sector in developing countries and WHO has stated that a reduction of chromate eczema is a prioritised area for the organisation.
Although, we seldom see chromate eczema in the contstruction section in Sweden there are still many that become contact allergic to chromate. At our department 3-4% of all eczema patients are allergic to chromate. These high figures have been explained with the fact that we have much contact with leather Products that have been tanned with chromium salts.
In this project we intend to further explore why so many are allergic to chromate and how high the risk is to develop eczema if you are chromate allergic. The aim is also to investigate if chromate eczema, foremost in contruction workers in developing coubtries, can be avoided by using a protective cream.