The Importance of Human Data in the Establishment of Occupational Exposure Limits (original) (raw)
Related papers
Occupational exposure limits: A comparative study
Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, 2008
Occupational exposure limits (OELs) are used as an important regulatory instrument to protect workers' health from adverse effects of chemical exposures. The OELs mirror the outcome of the risk assessment and risk management performed by the standard setting actor. In this study we compared the OELs established by 18 different organisations or national regulatory agencies. The OELs were compared with respect to: (1) what chemicals have been selected and (2) the average level of exposure limits for all chemicals. Our database contains OELs for a total of 1341 substances; of these 25 substances have OELs from all 18 organisations while more than one-third of the substances are only regulated by one organisation. The average level of the exposure limits has declined during the past 10 years for 6 of the 8 organisations in our study for which historical data were available; it has increased for Poland and remained nearly unchanged for Sweden. The average level of OELs differs substantially between organisations; the US OSHA exposure limits are (on average) nearly 40 % higher than those of Poland. The scientific or policy-related motivations for these differences remain to be analysed.
Exposure assessment at the workplace: Implications of biological variability
Toxicology Letters, 2007
Biological monitoring (BM) and biomarkers are widely applied in occupational toxicology. BM is mainly aimed at (i) defining the existence of an occupational exposure; (ii) quantifying the level of internal dose; (iii) verifying that exposure limits (BEI ® , BAT, BLV) are respected. As compared to ambient monitoring, BM is more expensive and complex. Several biomarkers are available for the same chemical and the meaning of the marker may depend on the sampling time. Therefore, practical issues, including cost and selection of an adequate sampling strategy, should be dealt with when planning a BM program for specific purposes. In addition, several biological and analytical sources of variability may influence biomarker levels, thus making the interpretation of BM data a difficult task. However, we should recognize that the main aim of BM is not to reduce, but to explain biological variance. The decreasing trend in occupational exposure levels highlighted the specificity problems of traditional biomarkers of exposure and prompted the research to the development of new biomarkers, e.g. unchanged volatile compounds in urine, minor metabolites, DNA and protein adducts. Depending on the scope and context (research or routine) different requirements of biomarkers can be envisaged in terms of validation and acceptable variability. -effect level; BMD, benchmark dose; BMDL, lower limit of a one-sided 95% confidence interval on the BMD; BMR, benchmark response; ED 10 , median effective dose to a 10% of a population; LED 10 , lower confidence limit on the dose that produces a 10% risk; Hb, hemoglobin; AAVAL, acrylamide Hb adducts
Professor of Occupational Toxicology, Department of Occupational Health, School of Health
2016
The journal publishes original research papers, short communications, scientific notes, case reports, letter to editors, and review articles in English. The scope of papers comprises all aspects of Health Sciences and Surveillance System. The Editorial Board would be glad to receive your original papers on any area of Health Sciences. Submission Process Manuscripts can be sent preferably through the on-line submission system: (http://jhsss.sums. ac.ir) • Conflict of Interest We request all the authors to inform us about any kinds of "Conflict of Interest" (such as financial, personal, political, or academic) that would potentially affect their judgment. Authors are preferably asked to fill the uniform disclosure form available through: (http://www.icmje.org/ coi_disclosure.pdf) • Plagiarism The authors are not allowed to utilize verbatim text of previously published papers or manuscripts submitted elsewhere.
Rules and recent trends for setting health-based occupational exposure limits for chemicals
International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health
The working environment is the special case of the non-natural environment created by man in which the increased production activity brings about the concentration of stimulators particularly aggressive to the human organism, such as chemical hazards, noise, vibration, extreme temperatures, and finally, intensified psychological and emotional stress. Depending on the nature and intensity, working environment factors have been classified into dangerous, harmful and annoying. The workers are more and more frequently exposed to dangerous chemicals in the working environment. The chemicals cause many diseases including, in the 1st place, respiratory insufficiency, inflammatory skin conditions, psychoneurological disorders and neoplastic diseases. Occupational exposure limit values (OELs), the main criteria for occupational exposure assessment, constitute an important factor for the safe use of chemicals in the working environment. In Poland, to date there are 524 chemical substances and 19 dusts for which maximum admissible concentrations (MAC) have been established.
2003
The objective of setting occupational exposure limits (OELs) in the European Union (EU) was introduced into EU legislation some 20 years ago. In 1991, the first set of 27 indicative limit values (ILVs) was proposed by the European Commission (EC). At about the same time, the EC assembled a group of independent scientists concerned with the derivation of OELs. In 1995, the status of this group was formalised into the Scientific Committee on Occupational Exposure Limits (SCOEL). The SCOEL plays a key role in setting OELs in the EU. This committee recommends to the EC “health-based” or “pragmatic” OELs. “Health-based” OELs are recommended for chemicals for which a threshold dose for adverse effects can be identified, and “pragmatic” OELs for chemicals for which such a threshold dose is assumed not to exist. Special attention is paid to the way in which the SCOEL evaluates carcinogens. A separate committee, the Advisory Committee for Safety, Hygiene, and Health at Work (ACSHH), consisti...
Toxicological Sciences, 2009
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