The 2008 ICOH workshop on skin notation

Background: On 29 March 2008 the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH) Scientific Committee on Occupational and Environmental Dermatoses organized a Skin Notation Workshop hosted by the 11th International Percutaneous Penetration Perspectives Conference (La Grande Motte, France). Skin notation (S) was chosen as a topic for discussion because this is the only example of existing regulation in the field of dermal risk assessment. The issue was discussed in a previous workshop held in Siena, Italy in 2006 with the objective of focussing on the problems related to S, the different assignment criteria and the attempts to improve the S system made by various international and governmental agencies. A position paper was subsequently published. Objectives: The workshop in France was a continuation of this activity with the aim of evaluating how the different strategies can improve S. Methods and Discussion: The Workshop was divided into two sessions. The first was dedicated to lectures focused on different aspects of S. In the second session participants discussed key issues with the aim of exploring the actions needed to improve international S systems.