Health, human occupational disease

Occupational Safety and Health Guidance Manual for Hazardous Waste Site Activities. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Occupational and Health Administration (OSHA), the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Washington, D.C. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Public Health Service (PHS), Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Control (NIOSH), 1985. 

The evaluation of hazards posed to human health by toxic airborne chemicals is one of the common tasks employed in industrial hygiene. This process requires the collection of air samples to estimate air concentrations of specific substances inhaled by workers which can then be compared with standards and guides of acceptable exposure. Thus air sampling directly influences the formulation of important decisions. If air samples underestimate exposures, the consequence may be death or occupational disease. Conversely, overestimating exposures may result in the institution of unnecessary controls. Since either form of error is undesirable, it is fundamentally important that air sampling accurately define the extent of hazard. This requires that air samples be collected according to scientific, unbiased schemes for estimating exposures to toxic airborne chemicals. 

Much is known about the induction of drug toxicity in animals and humans. A variety of drugs have been used for the treatment of human health disorders. Occupational workers, young, adult men, women, and pregnant women often become victims when exposed to chemicals and drugs in workplaces. Many drugs and related chemicals are known to disturb and induce respiratory diseases in such exposed workers. Therefore, it is important to monitor and properly manage workers health to achieve safety. 

NIOSH. 1989. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. National occupational exposure survey as of 03/29/89. Cincinnati, OH U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control. 

The potential for unusual health effects of chemical mixtures due to the interaction of chemicals or their metabolites (e.g., metabolites of trichloroethylene and benzene) in or with the biosystem constitutes a real issue in the public health arena. However, toxicity testing to predict effects on humans has traditionally studied one chemical at a time for various reasons convenient to handle, physiochemical properties readily defined, dosage could easily be controlled, biologic fate could easily be measured, and relevant data were often available from human occupational exposures. Chemicals are known to cause disease for example, arsenic and skin cancer, asbestos and lung cancer, lead and decrements of IQ, and hepatitis B predisposes to aflatoxin-induced liver cancer but the link between the extent of human exposure to even well-defined chemical mixtures and disease formation remains relatively unexplored, but of paramount importance to public health. 

Occupational disease, caused by skin contact with toxic substances, represents a major health problem In the United States (1). Dermal exposure of agricultural workers to pesticide agents, of course. Is a particularly pertinent example of this problem. Prediction of the detrimental toxic effects of hazardous chemical exposure Is difficult, however, because of the complexity of the percutaneous absorption process in man and a lack of any consistently Identifiable relatlonshlp(s) between transport rate and chemical properties. In addition, the very diverse approaches, which have been used to measure skin penetration, further complicate the situation since the extrapolation of results to man In his workplace may Involve questionable, non-valldated assumptions. Our specific aim Is to predict accurately the toxicokinetics of occupationally-encountered molecules (e.g., pesticides) absorbed across human skin In vivo. We present... 

NIOSH, 2005. NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards Other Databases CD-ROM. Department of Health Human Services, Centers for Disease Prevention Control. National Institute for Occupational Safety Health. DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2005-151. 

Epidemiology operates within the context of public health with a strong emphasis on the prevention of disease through the reduction of factors that may increase the likelihood that an individual or group will suffer a given disease. Implicit in the practice of epidemiology is the need for different disciplines in studying the influence of occupation on human health. 

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