A harmonized occupational biomonitoring approach

Biomonitoring has been widely used in assessing exposures in both occupational and public health complementing chemical risk assessments because it measures the concentrations of chemical substances in human body fluids (e.g., urine and blood). Biomonitoring considers all routes and sources of exposure. An occupational biomonitoring guidance document has been elaborated (OECD Occupational Biomonitoring Guidance) within the OECD framework and specifically, the Working Parties on Exposure and Hazard Assessment by scientific experts from 40 institutes and organizations representing 15 countries. The guidance provides practical information for assessing chemical exposures in occupational settings including the three common routes of exposure: inhalation, skin absorption and ingestion due to hand to mouth contact. The elaborated stepwise approach for conducting biomonitoring is tailored for occupational health professionals, scientists, risk assessors, and regulators. It includes methods for selecting appropriate biomarkers, devising sampling strategies, and assessing laboratories for validated analytical methods for the biomarker of interest, and ensuring timely feedback of results. Furthermore, it describes procedures for setting up efficient biomonitoring programs based on the Similar Exposure Group (SEG) approaches. Derived health-based human exposure biomarker assessment values called Occupational Biomonitoring Levels (OBLs) are proposed for use in occupational exposure and risk assessment. It also helps with the interpretation of biomonitoring results routinely collected and procedures for communicating biomonitoring results at individual, collective, and workplace levels. Ethical considerations associated with biomonitoring are also discussed. The ultimate goal of this biomonitoring approach is to promote harmonized application and interpretation of biomarkers as well as evidence-based occupational risk management measures.

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Publication Details

Journal
Environment International
Published
2024-08-31
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2024.108990
Citations
22
Primary Topic
Effects and risks of endocrine disrupting chemicals
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
6.92
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article

A harmonized occupational biomonitoring approach

Jos Bessems, Maryam Zare Jeddi, Radu Corneliu Duca, Devika Poddalgoda et al.
22 citations
Environment International
Effects and risks of endocrine disrupting chemicals
6.92
article

A harmonized occupational biomonitoring approach

Jos Bessems, Maryam Zare Jeddi, Radu Corneliu Duca, Devika Poddalgoda, Kate Jones, Patience Browne, Virpi Väänänen, Susana Viegas, Robert Pasanen‐Kase, Tiina Santonen, Nancy B. Hopf, Kaspar Schmid, M Koller, K. Takaki, Ludwine Casteleyn, Rex FitzGerald, Farida Lamkarkach, Thomas Göen, M. Bader, Christophe Rousselle
article en
22 citations

Abstract

Biomonitoring has been widely used in assessing exposures in both occupational and public health complementing chemical risk assessments because it measures the concentrations of chemical substances in human body fluids (e.g., urine and blood). Biomonitoring considers all routes and sources of exposure. An occupational biomonitoring guidance document has been elaborated (OECD Occupational Biomonitoring Guidance) within the OECD framework and specifically, the Working Parties on Exposure and Hazard Assessment by scientific experts from 40 institutes and organizations representing 15 countries. The guidance provides practical information for assessing chemical exposures in occupational settings including the three common routes of exposure: inhalation, skin absorption and ingestion due to hand to mouth contact. The elaborated stepwise approach for conducting biomonitoring is tailored for occupational health professionals, scientists, risk assessors, and regulators. It includes methods for selecting appropriate biomarkers, devising sampling strategies, and assessing laboratories for validated analytical methods for the biomarker of interest, and ensuring timely feedback of results. Furthermore, it describes procedures for setting up efficient biomonitoring programs based on the Similar Exposure Group (SEG) approaches. Derived health-based human exposure biomarker assessment values called Occupational Biomonitoring Levels (OBLs) are proposed for use in occupational exposure and risk assessment. It also helps with the interpretation of biomonitoring results routinely collected and procedures for communicating biomonitoring results at individual, collective, and workplace levels. Ethical considerations associated with biomonitoring are also discussed. The ultimate goal of this biomonitoring approach is to promote harmonized application and interpretation of biomarkers as well as evidence-based occupational risk management measures.

Environment InternationalVol. 191
Organisation de Coopération et de Développement Economiques (FR), Health Canada (CA), Ministry of the Environment (JP), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (DE), University of Basel (CH), HSE Science and Research Centre (GB), Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FI), Government of Canada (CA), European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (ES), Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (FI), Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (CH), BASF (United States) (US), National School of Public Health (GR), BASF (Germany) (DE), Suva (CH), Agence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaire de l’Alimentation, de l’Environnement et du Travail (FR), Laboratoire National de Santé (LU), Centre universitaire de médecine générale et santé publique, Lausanne (CH), European Chemicals Agency, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (BE), Shell (Netherlands) (NL), Universidade Nova de Lisboa (PT), Robert Bosch (Germany) (DE), University of Lausanne (CH), KU Leuven (BE)
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
Effects and risks of endocrine disrupting chemicals
6.92
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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