Effects of hexavalent and trivalent chromium compounds on the skin.

Abstract

This report is a continuation of previous investigations dealing with the effects of chromium compounds on the skin.1-3The purpose of the present study is to report the effects of hexavalent and trivalent chromium compounds in clinical and laboratory studies of the role of chromium compounds in shoe leather dermatitis, of absorption of hexavalent and trivalent chromium compounds in the skin of guinea pigs, and of conjugation between chromium salts with various proteins and the inactivation of chromium reactions. I. Chromium Compounds in the Causation of Shoe Leather Dermatitis In the most recent study,4we demonstrated the capacity of human sweat to extract chromium from chrome-tanned leathers. The findings support the observations reported by leather chemists. The chromium compounds extracted were both hexavalent and trivalent, as shown by polarographic studies. The nature of the chromium extracted was determined by spectrophotometric analyses; the trivalent chromium is in the form