Title
A roadmap towards a globally harmonized approach for occupational health surveillance and epidemiology in nanomaterial workers
Author
Riediker, M.
Schubauer-Berigan, M.K.
Brouwer, D.H.
Nelissen, I.
Koppen, G.
Frijns, E.
Clark, K.A.
Hoeck, J.
Liou, S.H.
Ho, S.F.
Bergamaschi, E.
Gibson, R.
Publication year
2012
Abstract
Objective: Few epidemiological studies have addressed the health of workers exposed to novel manufactured nanomaterials. The small current workforces will necessitate pooling international cohorts. Method: A roadmap was defined for a globally harmonized framework for the careful choice of materials, exposure characterisation, identification of study populations, definition of health endpoints, evaluation of appropriateness of study designs, data collection and analysis, and interpretation of the results. Results: We propose a roadmap to reach global consensus on these issues. The proposed strategy should ensure that the costs of action are not disproportionate to the potential benefits, and that the approach is pragmatic and practical. Conclusions: We should aim to go beyond the collection of health complaints, illness statistics or even counts of deaths: the manifestation of such clear endpoints would indicate a failure of preventive measures.
Subject
Life
QS - Quality & Safety
EELS - Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences
Work and Employment
Health
Healthy Living
Nanomaterials
Workers
Epidemiology
Health surveillance
Harmonization
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http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:040ee36f-7c10-4322-bf48-83d8703a66b5
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1097/jom.0b013e31826e27f1
TNO identifier
463843
Source
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medecine, 54 (10), 1214-1223
Document type
article