Dermatoses in jute workers.

Although skin changes in workers associated with the manufacture of various textiles, especially cotton, have been the subject of numerous communications (e.g., Southam, 1927; Brockbank, 1941) there are few references in the literature to dermatoses in jute workers. Henry (1947) refers to one case of scrotal carcinoma in a jute worker out of a total of 1,421 notifications to the Factory Inspectorate. Even the standard textbooks on occupational diseases of the skin (Schwartz, Tulipan, and Peck, 1947; Prosser White, 1934) contain little information on this subject, and a paper on jute dermatitis in Indian workers (Curjel and Acton, 1924) describes only the follicular lesions of oil acne. There has not been, to our knowledge, any comprehensive survey of skin changes in jute workers. One of us (J. K.) had noted certain changes on the exposed skin of elderly jute workers, and since the major part of jute manufacture in Britain is concentrated in or around Dundee, it seemed that a planned survey in this region would fill a gap in our knowledge and produce results of some value. This study only refers to skin changes which may be associated with the manufacture of jute from its raw state as received in this country to the finished woven article. The principal difference between the manufacture of jute and that of most other fibres is that jute has to be treated with a mixture or emulsion of oil and water before it can be spun; the jute worker therefore is exposed to an unnaturally oily fibre in addition to any contact with oil used in lubricating the machinery. Up till about 25 years ago whale oil was used but since then varying proportions of mineral oil have been added and whale oil has been used less and less until the recent war years when its scarcity and high price stopped its use altogether. The oil is added to the jute fibre in the first stage of manufacture (known as " batching ") when it is softened between rollers. It is then " prepared " by a carding process similar to that used in the cotton and woollen industry; the " sliver" ribbon then goes through the " drawing" department in which it is thinned and elongated and is then " twisted" on to bobbins ready for spinning. Jute spinning, unlike cotton spinning, is done on frames with spindles revolving at the high speed of some 4,000 revolutions per minute. The spun yarn is wound either for the warp (" spool-winding ") or for the weft (" cop-winding ") and the " beamers" make the warp thread ready for the weavers. Woven jute is coarse material, used for a variety of purposes such as sacks or backing for linoleum. The woven cloth may be taken to the " sewing flat " for conversion into sacks or to the " calender" where it is folded, rot-proofed if need be, and otherwise prepared for the market. In one establishment we visited there was a tar house in which jute yarn was coated with tar for a special purpose. Terms used for other workers are selfexplanatory. All had contact with jute except the office and canteen staffs. Our investigation was divided into two main parts: (1) a clinical survey covering a period of one year (July, 1952 to August, 1953) of all new patients over the age of 16 attending the ordinary skin outpatients clinic of Dundee Royal Infirmary, the only centre for such clinics in the city; and (2) a field survey of all workers in seven jute mills and factories in the city.