How to use human biomonitoring in chemical risk assessment: Methodological aspects, recommendations, and lessons learned from HBM4EU

One of the aims of the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative, HBM4EU, was to provide examples of and good practices for the effective use of human biomonitoring (HBM) data in human health risk assessment (RA). The need for such information is pressing, as previous research has indicated that regulatory risk assessors generally lack knowledge...

A physiologically-based kinetic (PBK) model for work-related diisocyanate exposure: Relevance for the design and reporting of biomonitoring studies

Diisocyanates are highly reactive substances and known causes of occupational asthma. Exposure occurs mainly in the occupational setting and can be assessed through biomonitoring which accounts for inhalation and dermal exposure and potential effects of protective equipment. However the interpretation of biomonitoring data can be challenging for...

Estimation of the Exposure-Response Relation between Benzene and Acute Myeloid Leukemia by Combining Epidemiologic, Human Biomarker, and Animal Data

Background: Chemical risk assessment can benefit from integrating data across multiple evidence bases, especially in exposure–response curve (ERC) modeling when data across the exposure range are sparse. Methods: We estimated the ERC for benzene and acute myeloid leukemia (AML), by fitting linear and spline-based Bayesian meta-regression models...

Health Risk Assessment of Ortho-Toluidine Utilising Human Biomonitoring Data of Workers and the General Population

The aim of this work was to demonstrate how human biomonitoring (HBM) data can be used to assess cancer risks for workers and the general population. Ortho-toluidine, OT (CAS 95-53-4) is an aniline derivative which is an animal and human carcinogen and may cause methemoglobinemia. OT is used as a curing agent in epoxy resins and as intermediate...

HBM4EU Diisocyanates Study-Research Protocol for a Collaborative European Human Biological Monitoring Study on Occupational Exposure

Diisocyanates have long been a leading cause of occupational asthma in Europe, and recently, they have been subjected to a restriction under the REACH regulations. As part of the European Human Biomonitoring project (HBM4EU), we present a study protocol designed to assess occupational exposure to diisocyanates in five European countries. The...

Biomonitoring for Occupational Exposure to Diisocyanates: A Systematic Review

Diisocyanates are a group of chemicals that are widely used in occupational settings. They are known to induce various health effects, including skin- and respiratory tract sensitization resulting in allergic dermatitis and asthma. Exposure to diisocyanates has been studied in the past decades by using different types of biomonitoring markers...

A Quantitative Meta-Analysis of the Relation between Occupational Benzene Exposure and Biomarkers of Cytogenetic Damage

BACKGROUND: The genotoxicity of benzene has been investigated in dozens of biomonitoring studies, mainly by studying (classical) chromosomal aberrations (CAs) or micronuclei (MN) as markers of DNA damage. Both have been shown to be predictive of future cancer risk in cohort studies and could, therefore, potentially be used for risk assessment of...

Human biomonitoring in health risk assessment in Europe: Current practices and recommendations for the future

Human biomonitoring (HBM) is an important tool to survey the internal exposure of humans which represents the real life chemical body burden to chemicals and/or their metabolites. It results from total exposure to chemical substances from different sources and via different routes. These substances may be regulated under different legislative...

Preventie Beroepsziekten. Rapport Fase 1: Inventarisatie gevaarlijke stoffen

In de daarin geselecteerde branches Metaal, Chemie en Bouw zijn in het tweede tertaal bedrijfsbezoeken uitgevoerd, gekoppeld aan interviews met werkgevers en werknemers. Ook andere belangrijke stakeholders zijn geïnterviewd. Onderwerpen die aan de orde kwamen zijn o.a. de organisatie van de bedrijfsgezondheidszorg, de bedrijfscultuur met...

Aandacht voor huiselijk geweld en kindermishandeling. Hoe zijn deze geweldsthema’s verwerkt in de onderwijsprogramma’s van sociaal-agogische, pedagogische, psychologische, zorg- en onderwijsopleidingen? Een inventarisatie.

In opdracht van het Ministerie van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport (VWS) werd in 2012 op dit terrein de stand van zaken opgemaakt voor de medische opleidingen. De resultaten hiervan zijn onder leiding van de Koninklijke Nederlandse Maatschappij tot bevordering der Geneeskunst (KNMG) besproken. Ook werd een werkgroep opgezet die zich nu richt...