Medical surveillance elements

Although broad latitude is given to the physician in prescribing specific tests to be included in the medical surveillance program, OSHA requires inclusion of the following elements in the routine examination ... 

Initial examinations. At the time of initial assignment, or upon institution of the medical surveillance program, the employer shall provide each affected employee an opportunity for a medical examination, including at least the following elements ... 

XRF is not a new method since the first measurements of stable iodine in the thyroid by Hoffer et al. (1968), the use of XRF has spread to include several other elements in medical apphcations, as well as applications in occupational and environmental surveillance. Today, XRF is primarily used as a nondestructive method for investigation of metals, minerals, environmental samples, food constituents, and body fluids. Examples of in vivo XRF elemental analysis are measurements of lead in bone (Ahlgren and Mattsson, 1979 Somervaille et al., 1985 Todd and Chettle, 1994) and studies on cadmium, mercury, gold, and platinum (Ahlgren and Mattsson, 1981 Borjesson et al, 1993, 1995), but the method is not, to our knowledge, used clinically as a tool in the routine assessment of thyroid function. Some in vivo applications of the method are listed in Table 3.1. 

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