OCULAR lesions developing in workers exposed to aniline or its derivatives have been previously reported. MacKinley,1 in 1886, reported brown discoloration of the cornea and conjunctiva in an aniline plant worker with slight reduction in vision. In 1897 Senn2 observed among 32 workers in aniline dye 18 with sepia brown staining in the interpalpebral zone. In 10 of these workers only the conjunctiva was stained; in 8 the cornea was involved. Senn postulated that this staining was due to the oxidation product of aniline, viz., paraquinone. K. Velhagen Jr.3 collected a series of 6 cases of workers in hydroquinone plants with lesions of the conjunctiva and cornea of various degrees, similar to those developing in workers described in the present report.
Since the manner in which the persons involved in this study were exposed to the chemical is a problem of industrial hygiene rather than one of