Occupational contact dermatitis effect by nickel concentration in chemical cleaning agents among cleaners at a public university in Selangor

Cleaners were categorized as the vulnerable group toward occupational contact dermatitis (OCD) due to exposure to chemical cleaning products. This study investigates the relationship between occupational contact dermatitis effect and exposure to nickel and alkalinity in chemical cleaning agents among cleaners at a public university in Selangor. A guided questionnaire was conducted involving 78 respondents and cleaning products used by the respondents were collected for chemical analysis.There are two instruments used which are PinAAcle 900T Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS) and Winlab Data Line pH-meter which were used to measure Nickel contents and alkalinity level of the cleaning products. The result analys is shows that skin symptoms for redness and itching are significantly associated with the prevalence of occupational contact dermatitis at χ²=42.31, P=<0.001 (OR=219.00) respectively and the alkalinity properties of the cleaning products show an almost significant association with the prevalence of OCD at χ²=4.438, P=0.052 (OR=0.895). The skin symptoms faced by the cleaners were used to define the prevalence of OCD.Meanwhile, there is no association of nickel concentration in the cleaning products with the prevalence of OCD among these cleaners at χ²=1.656, P=0.572 (OR=1.077). The findings of this study show skin irritancy towards alkaline agents. This is crucial for cleaning product manufacture since cleaning solutions with a pH between 5.5 and 7.0 may impact the epidermis less. Thus, it is concluded that nickel allergy was difficult to be linked with occupational factors hence,more research is required to figure out the underlying reason for the occurrence of OCD among workers in the cleaning industry.