Conference on Occupational Exposure Databases: A Report and Look at the Future

Abstract

The rationale, goals, and interdisciplinary and multi-institutional character of the Conference on Occupational Exposure Databases are described based on a conceptual framework for thinking about exposure data. The three areas that pose the critical challenges to database developments are discussed: 1) the multiple and changing uses and users of data; 2) the need for better and standardized definitions of the exposure-relevant information which should be collected along with exposure measurements; and 3) the closely related and equally critical coding issues. The concluding section summarizes the principal consensus views and recommendations from the conference and the status of the activities now underway to implement those recommendations. Gómez, M.R.; Rawls, G.: Conference on Occupational Exposure Databases: A Report and Look at the Future. Appl. Occup. Environ. Hyg. 10(4):238–243; 1995.