Guideline for Collection of Industrial Hygiene Exposure Assessment Data for Epidemiologic Use

Abstract

Workplace exposures of employees are assessed by corporate industrial hygienists for a variety of purposes, most often for compliance with regulations or with consensus or corporate exposure guidelines. With adequate documentation and means for linking results with groups of workers, the results of most exposure assessment efforts may be useful in future epidemiologic studies. As part of its Epidemiology Resource and Information Center (ERIC) program, the Chemical Manufacturers Association supported the development of guidelines for the collection of industrial hygiene exposure assessment data in such a way that they will be useful in future epidemiology studies. Discussions with corporate experts and a review of forms used by several well-developed corporate industrial hygiene programs demonstrated that most of the documentation needed to make exposure assessment information somewhat, if not ideally, useful in epidemiology is currently routinely collected in those programs. The guideline developed for the ERIC program addresses the collection of industrial hygiene data for epidemiologic use at three levels: The basic level is a minimal effort that will permit a reasonable level of retrieval and epidemiologic interpretation of data on industrial hygiene exposure that are routinely collected for other purposes. This level of effort is limited almost exclusively to documentation of samples so they are capable of interpretation in future epidemiologic studies. The intermediate level of effort will accrue some exposure assessment data having characteristics particularly useful in epidemiologic studies. Some sampling data will be specifically obtained to permit examination of gradients of exposure and some statistical analyses. The research contributor's level of effort will result in the generation of data that can be used to perform specific occupational epidemiologic studies. Such efforts may be especially suited to situations in which health hazards are suspected but have not been adequately characterized. Harris, R.L: Guideline for Collection of Industrial Hygiene Exposure Assessment Data for Epidemiologic Use. Appl. Occup. Environ. Hyg. 10(4):311–316; 1995.