Response Letter to Koivisto et al. 'Evaluating the Theoretical Background of STOFFENMANAGER® and the Advanced REACH Tool'

In this article, we have responded to the key statements in the article by Koivisto et al. (2022) that were incorrect and considered to be a biased critique on a subset of the exposure models used in Europe (i.e. ART and Stoffenmanager®) used for regulatory exposure assessment. We welcome scientific discussions on exposure modelling (as was done...

Experimental Assessment of Inhalation and Dermal Exposure to Chemicals During Industrial or Professional Activities in Relation to the Performance of ECETOC TRA

For many work situations only insufficient exposure data are available to perform proper risk assessment. Because measuring worker exposure can be time consuming and resource intense, the availability of reliable exposure models is important when performing risk assessments. However, the development and improvement of exposure models are...

Extrapolating the Applicability of Measurement Data on Worker Inhalation Exposure to Chemical Substances

Measured data are generally preferred to modelled estimates of exposure. Grouping and read-across is already widely used and accepted approach in toxicology, but an appropriate approach and guidance on how to use existing exposure measurement data on one substance and work situation for another substance and/or work situation is currently not...

Detailed assessment of low-back loads may not be worth the effort: A comparison of two methods for exposure-outcome assessment of low-back pain

The trade-off between feasibility and accuracy of measurements of physical exposure at the workplace has often been discussed, but is unsufficiently understood. We therefore explored the effect of two low-back loading measurement tools with different accuracies on exposure estimates and their associations with low-back pain (LBP). Low-back...

Reliability of the Advanced REACH Tool (ART)

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the reliability of the Advanced REACH Tool (ART) by (i) studying interassessor agreement of the resulting exposure estimates generated by the ART mechanistic model, (ii) studying interassessor agreement per model parameters of the ART mechanistic model, (iii) investigating assessor characteristics...

JEMs and incompatible occupational coding systems: Effect of manual and automatic recoding of job codes on exposure assignment

Background: In epidemiological studies, occupational exposure estimates are often assigned through linkage of job histories to job-exposure matrices (JEMs). However, available JEMs may have a coding system incompatible with the coding system used to code the job histories, necessitating a translation of the originally assigned job codes. Since...

Stoffenmanager: a web-based control banding tool using an exposure process model

In the scope of a Dutch programme to reinforce the working conditions policy on hazardous substances, an internet-based tool was developed to help small- and medium-sized companies to handle hazardous substances with more care. The heart of this tool, called the Stoffenmanager, is a risk banding scheme. It combines a hazard banding scheme...