Assessing occupational styrene exposure in the European and US Glass Reinforced Plastics Industry for the period between 1947 and 2020.

Background: We aimed to develop a method for assessing occupational styrene exposures for application in epidemiological studies on risks of lymphohematopoietic neoplasms and other malignant and non-malignant diseases in the European and the US glass reinforced plastics industries.

Method: We estimated a linear mixed effects model based on individual airborne personal measurements of styrene from the glass reinforced plastics industry in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, UK, and the US. The most suitable model was chosen based on its predictive power as assessed using cross validation with different combinations of predictors; and by comparing their prediction errors.

Toxicity Weighting for Human Biomonitoring Mixture Risk Assessment: A Proof of Concept.

Chemical mixture risk assessment has, in the past, primarily focused on exposures quantified in the external environment. Assessing health risks using human biomonitoring (HBM) data provides information on the internal concentration, from which a dose can be derived, of chemicals to which human populations are exposed. This study describes a proof of concept for conducting mixture risk assessment with HBM data, using the population-representative German Environmental Survey (GerES) V as a case study.

A Review of Workplace Risk Management Measures for Nanomaterials to Mitigate Inhalation and Dermal Exposure.

This review describes an evaluation of the effectiveness of Risk Management Measures (RMM) for nanomaterials in the workplace. Our aim was to review the effectiveness of workplace RMM for nanomaterials and to determine whether established effectiveness values of conventional chemical substances applied for modelling purposes should be adopted or revised based on available evidence. A literature review was conducted to collate nano-specific data on workplace RMM.

Work-related factors associated with occupational exposure to static magnetic stray fields from MRI scanners.

Purpose: This study aims to identify work-related and personal factors associated with workers' exposure to static magnetic fields (SMF) and motion-induced time-varying magnetic fields (TVMF) from MRI scanners.

Methods: Measurements of personal exposure to SMF and TVMF were performed among MRI staff during 439 work shifts at 14 different workplaces using portable magnetic field dosimeters. These data were coupled with contextual workplace and worker information.

Exposure to static and time-varying magnetic fields from working in the static magnetic stray fields of MRI scanners: a comprehensive survey in the Netherlands.

Clinical and research staff who work around magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners are exposed to the static magnetic stray fields of these scanners. Although the past decade has seen strong developments in the assessment of occupational exposure to electromagnetic fields from MRI scanners, there is insufficient insight into the exposure variability that characterizes routine MRI work practice. However, this is an essential component of risk assessment and epidemiological studies.

Occupational exposure of healthcare and research staff to static magnetic stray fields from 1.5-7 Tesla MRI scanners is associated with reporting of transient symptoms.

Objectives: Limited data is available about incidence of acute transient symptoms associated with occupational exposure to static magnetic stray fields from MRI scanners. We aimed to assess the incidence of these symptoms among healthcare and research staff working with MRI scanners, and their association with static magnetic field exposure.

Methods: We performed an observational study among 361 employees of 14 clinical and research MRI facilities in The Netherlands.

Does assessment of personal exposure matter during experimental neurocognitive testing in MRI-related magnetic fields?

Purpose: To determine whether the use of quantitative personal exposure measurements in experimental research would result in better estimates of the associations between static and time-varying magnetic field exposure and neurocognitive test performance than when exposure categories were based solely on distance to the magnetic field source.

Methods: In our original analysis, based on distance to the magnet of a 7 T MRI scanner, an effect of exposure to static magnetic fields was observed. We performed a sensitivity analysis of test performance on a reaction task and line bisection task with different exposure measures that were derived from personal real-time measurements.

Inventory of MRI applications and workers exposed to MRI-related electromagnetic fields in the Netherlands.

Objective: This study aims to characterise and quantify the population that is occupationally exposed to electromagnetic fields (EMF) from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) devices and to identify factors that determine the probability and type of exposure.

Materials And Methods: A questionnaire survey was used to collect information about scanners, procedures, historical developments and employees working with or near MRI scanners in clinical and research MRI departments in the Netherlands.

Results: Data were obtained from 145 MRI departments.

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 manual recoding is usually not feasible in large studies, this is often done by use of automated crosswalks translating job codes from one system to another.