Skin diseases are recognized to be the most common of all occupational diseases. Authorities estimate that industrial dermatoses comprise more than 60% of all occupational ills.1 In the railroad industry, which employed about 949,000 workers in 1959,2 one could expect a substantial number of dermatoses, both occupational and nonoccupational. Statistics of the United States Railroad Retirement Board3 indicate that 162 pensions were granted 1956-1960 inclusive because of disability based on all types of diseases of the skin without reference to occupational status. During this period 2 employees of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad received pensions because of occupational dermatitis.
Like other industries, the railroads in recent years have experienced a number of changes. There has been, for example, a considerable trend toward the use of diesel engines; the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad started dieselization in 1935 and completed it in 1957. The dermatoses encountered have been greatly