Health Surveillance of Individual Workers Exposed to Chemical Agents

Early in 1985, a meeting was held to discuss the organization of a work shop in honour of Professor Reinier L. Zielhuis on the occasion of his retirement on November 30,1986. Various themes for such a workshop were considered, but it was Zielhuis himself, who ultimately selected "Health surveillance of individual workers exposed to chemical agents" as the theme of the workshop. Although this topic is of the utmost im portance for occupational health practice, it is also a very difficult one, given our currently limited knowledge on the subject. The choice of this topic is characteristic of Reinier Zielhuis, a scientist and scholar who throughout his career has been deeply concerned with the health and health risks of workers. Because he regards occupational and environmental exposure - including life style - as two aspects of the total exposure to chemical and physical factors, he emphasizes the need to assess the impact of this total exposure on workers' health. The impact of total exposure probably detennines to a large extent the in dividual variability in response. This was the main reason why he selected the above-mentioned topic for the workshop.

Proceedings of the International Workshop on Health Surveillance of Individual Workers Exposed to Chemical Agents, Amsterdam, October 29-31, 1986

Summary Report, Conclusions and Recommendations.- Theme I: Intra- and Interindividual Variability in External and Internal Exposure to Chemicals.- Assessment of Variability in Individual Exposure to Metals.- The Impact of Life Style Factors and Consumption of Pharmaceutical Drugs on Toxicokinetics.- Variability in Toxicokinetics in Exposure to Solvents.- Variability in Toxicokinetics in Exposure to Metals.- Screening Models in Occupational Health Practice for Assessment of Individual Exposure and Health Risk by Means of Biological Monitoring in Exposure to Solvents.- Screening Models in Occupational Health Practice for Assessment of Combined Exposure to Chemicals at Work.- Theme II: Intra- and Interindividual Variability in Response.- Intra- and Interindividual Variability of Biochemical and Haematological Parameters in Periodical Health Surveillance.- Enzyme Induction: Its Relevance for Internal Exposure and Health Risks.- Variability in Response of the Nervous System (Central, Peripheral) to Workplace Chemicals.- The Impact of Nonwork-Related Impairments of Organ Functions on the Toxicokinetics and Toxicodynamics of Industrial Chemicals.- Screening Models in Occupational Health Practice to Detect and to Assess Individuals and Groups at Risk Because of Exposure and/or with Decreased Capacities to Cope with Workplace Chemicals.- Analytical Variability of Biological Parameters of Exposure and Early Effects.- Theme III: The Impact of Other Conditions at Work and off Work on Exposure and Response.- The Impact of Aspects of Time and Duration of Exposure on Toxicokinetics and Toxicodynamics of Workplace Chemicals.- The Impact of Physical and Mental Activity on Toxicokinetics and Toxicodynamics of Workplace Chemicals.- Assessing the Health Impact of Total Exposure at and offWork: Methodological Problems in Occupational Epidemiology.- Feasibility of Composite Workplace Standards for Chemical and/or Physical Workplace Factors.- Priority Setting for Health Surveys of Workers.- Towards a Dynamic Model of Exposure, Susceptibility and Effect.- Structural Properties of Economic Systems and Health Risks.