Occupational hepatitis caused by methylenedianiline

Abstract

Four of the six workmen who were engaged in laying an epoxy resin based floor developed an acute hepatic illness; in two of these men, the illness recurred on re-exposure a few months later, and their convalescence period was prolonged. It was concluded that methylenedianiline, which was used as the curing agent for the epoxy resin, was the likely hepatotoxin on the basis of marked similarities of these men's symptoms and signs to those described in other published reports about toxic exposure to this compound. To date, there is no evidence of long-term liver damage caused by this widely used industrial chemical.