Chimney sweep crabC44.7

With the description of scrotal cancer in chimney sweeps as a result of exposure to soot by the British surgeon Sir Percival Pott in 1775, pitch skin disease is one of the oldest occupational diseases described. The fact that it was already included in the 1st Ordinance on the Extension of Accident Insurance to Occupational Diseases of May 12, 1925 under No. 7, long before skin diseases were included in the Ordinance, sheds significant light on the widespread use of tar and tar products in industrial production and on the frequency of pitch skin disease in earlier years. The elimination of tar and tar products and the optimization of indispensable applications have resulted in "pitch skin disease" being a very rare occurrence today. The Technical Rule for Hazardous Substances (TRGS) 551 "Tar and other pyrolysis products from organic materials" has further promoted this positive development (BMA 1999), which has been continuously developed and is currently available in the version dated 27.01.2016 (BAuA 2016).

Remember! Submission of a medical report, especially in case of occupational skin diseases (BK 5102). S.a.u. occupational dermatoses.