La surveillance biologique dans le cadre professionnel est importante car elle reflète l'exposition globale des salariés aux agents chimiques via toutes les voies de pénétration.

Epidemiological studies have raised concerns about health risks from occupational exposure to inhalation anesthetics. This study aimed to systematically search, select and appraise the evidence from animal studies to derive occupational exposure levels (OELs) for nitrous oxide, isoflurane and sevoflurane. Comprehensive searches in PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science were performed to retrieve all relevant studies addressing neurological, reproductive and developmental outcomes related to inhalation of the inhalation anesthetics of interest in animals. Four studies were included for nitrous oxide, 24 studies for isoflurane and 7 studies for sevoflurane based on availability of quantitative exposure-response data. Studies were ranked by adverse outcomes using derived benchmark dose lower bounds (BDMLs). For nitrous oxide the critical effect was a reduced number of live fetuses/mother male. For isoflurane and sevoflurane fertility was considered as the most critical effect. Assessment factors were applied to cover uncertainties regarding interspecies and intraspecies differences. Using the BMDL as point of departure we derived 8-h time-weighted average (TWA) OELs of 20 mg/m3 for nitrous oxide, 0.9 mg/m3 for isoflurane and 0.8 mg/m3 for sevoflurane. For peak exposures, 15-min TWA OELs of 30 mg/m3 for isoflurane and 25 mg/m3 for sevoflurane were derived. This value could not be derived for nitrous oxide. These new OELs are expected to protect workers from health effects caused by these anesthetic gases.

In een bedrijf met een belangrijke blootstelling aan lood worden jaarlijks zowel luchtstaalnames als biomonitoring uitgevoerd, en dit reeds vele jaren. De resultaten zijn niet goed. Door een gerichte aanpak betreffende het informeren van de medewerkers over deze resultaten wordt getracht deze resultaten te verbeteren, met succes.

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De productie van staal vanaf grondstoffen verloopt in verschillende stappen. Bij meerdere stappen komen stoffen vrij waar biologische monitoring op kan gebeuren. De voornaamste worden toegelicht met concrete voorbeelden uit de rapportage van deze gegevens.

The safety of using ethanol-based products for hygienic hand disinfection in healthcare workers is controlled by restricting air levels. This raises the question of whether these workers are sufficiently protected. The study aim was to determine the contribution of the dermal route to the total uptake of ethanol. A laboratory-controlled study of 25 sequential alcohol-based-hand-rubs (ABHRs) with subsequent intermediate glove use was conducted in seven healthcare workers. Two exposure conditions were compared: hands and forearms placed inside a laboratory fume hood preventing inhalation (skin-only condition) and the same procedure but outside the fume hood to allow inhalation (reference condition). The hand hygiene product contained 84% ethanol and 1% ethanol-d6 added to verify exogenous origin. Inhalation exposure was measured by personal air sampling. Blood was collected at baseline, during an exposure and a post-exposure wash-out period and analysed for ethanol and ethanol-d6 by HS-GC-MS. The contribution of dermal uptake was assessed by comparing the area-under-curve (AUC) of blood ethanol concentrations in the skin-only-condition with that in the reference-condition within each study participant. Inhalation exposure in the breathing zone was (mean ± sd): 5.3±3.6 mg/m3 in the skin-only condition and 120±7 mg/m3 in the reference condition. The contribution from dermal absorption was observed to be 43±28% (N = 7) of the total uptake (inhalation and dermal). For ethanol-d6 this contribution was 40±16% (N = 3). In conclusion, high-frequency ABHRs lead to significant dermal absorption of ethanol.

Maintenance work in a chemical production installation entails an increased risk of exposure to hazardous chemical agents. Workplace air monitoring often reveals concentrations of chemical substances that are (far) above occupational exposure limits. Workers are therefore required to use specific personal protective equipment (PPE). Human biomonitoring can be a valuable tool for assessing exposure to chemical substances and for monitoring the effectiveness of both collective protective measures and personal protective equipment.