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| 2. |
- Ding, Qian, et al.
(författare)
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A comparison of occupational exposure limits in Asia and Europe
- 2011
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Ingår i: Toxicology Letters. - : Elsevier BV. - 0378-4274 .- 1879-3169. ; 205, s. S241-S241
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Occupational exposure limits (OELs) are used as a risk management tool aiming at protecting against negative health effects due to occupational exposure to harmful substances. The systems of OELs development have not been standardized and the divergent outcomes have been reported. However some harmonization process has been initiated, primary in Europe. This study aims at analysis of the state of harmonization in a more global context. The OELs systems of eight Asian and seventeen European organizations are analyzed with respect to: (1) the information regarding each organization's system for determining OELs; (2) similarity of substance selection in each system; (3) similarity of value levels of OEL. The analysis shows that the majority of investigated organizations declare to be influenced by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) systems, what in many cases is empirically confirmed. The EU harmonization process is also reflected in results showing the trends of convergence within the EU. However, the comparisons of Asian and European organisations indicate that there is no obvious evidence that OELs are becoming globally harmonized.
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| 3. |
- Ding, Qian, et al.
(författare)
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Occupational diseases in the People’s Republic of China between 2000 and 2010
- 2013
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Ingår i: American Journal of Industrial Medicine. - : Wiley. - 0271-3586 .- 1097-0274. ; 56:12, s. 1423-1432
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: This study provides a description and analysis of the development of occupational diseases in China as recorded in the official statistics during the period 2000-2010, identifies major challenges, and explores possible solutions for prevention and control. Methods: In-depth textual analysis and data analysis of China's annual national reports of occupational diseases, as well as of corresponding policy and regulation documents. Results: The number of recorded cases of occupational diseases increased rapidly in China between 2000 and 2010. Pneumoconiosis was the most prevalent category of occupational diseases. Chemical poisonings accounted for 13% of the cases of occupational diseases. Conclusions: Difficulties in diagnosis and inefficient surveillance are major impediments to the mitigation of occupational diseases. The new definition of occupational disease has provided an opportunity to enlarge the Catalogue of Occupational Diseases. Improved coordination of the different chemical regulations meant to protect human health may also facilitate the prevention of occupational disease.
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| 4. |
- Ding, Qian, et al.
(författare)
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Occupational exposure limits in Europe and Asia – Continued divergence or global harmonization?
- 2011
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Ingår i: Regulatory toxicology and pharmacology. - : Elsevier. - 0273-2300 .- 1096-0295. ; 61:3, s. 296-309
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Occupational exposure limits (OELs) are used as a risk management tool aiming at protecting against negative health effects of occupational exposure to harmful substances. The systems of OEL development have not been standardized and divergent outcomes have been reported. However some harmonization processes have been initiated, primarily in Europe. This study investigates the state of harmonization in a global context. The OEL systems of eight Asian and seventeen European organizations are analyzed with respect to similarities and differences in: (1) the system for determining OELs, (2) the selection of substances, and (3) the levels of the OELs. The majority of the investigated organizations declare themselves to have been influenced by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), and in many cases this can be empirically confirmed. The EU harmonization process is reflected in trends towards convergence within the EU. However, comparisons of Asian and European organizations provide no obvious evidence that OELs are becoming globally harmonized.
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| 5. |
- Ding, Qian, 1983-, et al.
(författare)
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Setting Risk-Based Occupational Exposure Limits for Non-Threshold Carcinogens
- 2014
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Ingår i: Human and Ecological Risk Assessment. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1080-7039 .- 1549-7860. ; 20:5, s. 1329-1344
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Several regulators have recently issued so-called risk-based occupational exposure limits for carcinogenic substances, and also reported estimates of the risk of fatality that exposure to the limit value would give rise to. This practice provides an opportunity to study how differences in the exposure limits set by different regulators are influenced by differences in the scientific judgment (what is the risk at different levels?) and in the policy judgment (how should large risks be accepted?). Based on a broad search, a list was compiled of exposure limits for carcinogens that the respective regulator associates with a numerical risk estimate. For benzene, such data was available from six regulators. The differences in estimates of the risk/exposure relationship and in risk tolerance were about equal in size for benzene, while the range for acceptability was somewhat wider. A similar pattern was observed, although less clearly, for substances with data from only two or three regulators. It is concluded that the science factor and the policy factor both contribute to differences in exposure limits for carcinogens. It was not possible to judge which of these two factors has the larger influence.
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| 6. |
- Enghag, Margareta, et al.
(författare)
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Nanoteknik och riskbedömning som nytt kunskapsinnehåll i gymnasiets naturvetenskapliga kurser – en designstudie
- 2016
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Ingår i: NorDiNa. - 1504-4556 .- 1894-1257. ; 12:2, s. 218-234
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nanoscience and nanotechnology (NST) is a rapidly developing knowledge area, which need incorporating in the school science curricula. The many uncertainties of risks and benefits with NST also open up for using NST as a socio-scientific issue (SSI). We present the two first iterations of a teaching sequence aimed for upper secondary school physics. The sequence contains content knowledge on NST and risk assessment and employs traditional classroom teaching, and a debate about NST as a SSI. The aims are to explore 1) students assessments of risks and benefits with NST, and 2) what design principles for teaching nanoscience and risk assessment that emerge as significant. We found that the risk assessment exercise stimulated student argumentation and discussion during the SSI debate. The teachers preferred to focus on the SSI activity, but found it challenging to fit NST content knowledge into the traditional teaching approach. Design principles found are discussed.
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| 7. |
- Enghag, Margareta, 1952-, et al.
(författare)
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Students’ arguments of risks and benefits in a debate about nanotechnology as a socioscientific issue included in a teaching sequence in secondary school
- 2016
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Ingår i: Electronic Proceedings of the ESERA 2015 Conference. - Helsinki : University of Helsinki. - 9789515115416 ; , s. 1191-1198
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report from the first iteration of a teaching sequence on nanoscience and nanotechnology (NST) in a Swedish secondary school science classroom. Twelve students, age 18, had seven lessons based on design principles of student ownership and talk space in the learning process. The study covers three areas: 1) the students’ learning of basic knowledge of NST, 2) their risk understanding of NST and 3) their ability to discuss NST as a socioscientific issue during a debate. The present paper focusses on a video recorded and transcribed final debate. In this debate students discussed NST as a socioscientific issue, identified risks and benefits in six different NST areas. These areas were selected from an online outreach activity and studied in groups of two. The debate showed that it is possible with only small resources and few lessons to introduce a discussion promoting climate in the classroom and that students can engage in qualified argumentation on NST. To further develop these aspects, we will add a lesson before the debate providing the students with tools for risk assessment and argumentation in coming iterations of this teaching sequence. Our analysis categorized the students into four groups by argument and decisive values indicating different degrees of risk averseness. These four groups share similarities with the argument–decisions found in earlier science education research. We conclude that students’ judgementof risks and benefits are based on knowledge from the studied course material, but that the decision made also includes personal values. In our continued research with this NST teaching sequence, we hope to find out if all these four groups could be found within each NST area which would indicate that these are general attitudes towards NST risks.
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| 8. |
- Hamza, Karim Mikael, 1967-, et al.
(författare)
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Nature of science in students’ discussions on disagreement between scientists following a narrative about health effects of the Fukushima Daiichi accident
- 2023
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Ingår i: International Journal of Science Education. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0950-0693 .- 1464-5289. ; 45:1, s. 22-42
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We explored the potential for addressing nature of science through a historic narrative about disagreement between researchers concerning a socio-scientific issue, incidence of juvenile thyroid cancer following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. The narrative was developed from authentic sources and tested in two cycles. Eight groups of three to four high-school students were audio recorded. Transcripts were analyzed regarding what nature of science emerged in the discussions and what understanding about NOS could be discerned, using three complementary NOS-frameworks (Consensus-NOS, Whole Science-NOS, FRA-NOS). Together, the student groups touched upon 19 different NOS-themes as they tried to make sense of the disagreement related in the narrative. All groups addressed a common core of NOS-themes, most of which were central to the narrative itself, although some themes that were not part of the narrative also emerged. Students displayed a basic understanding of the tentative, empirical, and subjective nature of science together with the role of evidential relevance and completeness of evidence related to the choice of scientific methods. On the other hand, students did not reckon with peer review as a means for establishing knowledge and resolving disagreement. Moreover, although students readily accepted disagreement as a basic property of science, they had difficulty handling this disagreement when coping with the SSI in the narrative. We discuss how the combination of history of science-in-the-making and SSI in narrative form offers opportunities to teach NOS without risking simplified messages of how scientific knowledge develops or how science can be used to address socio-scientific issues.
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| 9. |
- Hansson, Sven Ove, 1951-, et al.
(författare)
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Protection without Discrimination : Pregnancy and Occupational Health Regulations
- 2016
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Ingår i: European Journal of Risk Regulation. - : Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH. - 1867-299X .- 2190-8249. ; 7:2, s. 404-412
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Occupational exposures of pregnant workers can give rise to foetal damage. Two major types of strategies against detrimental effects on the foetus are described: differentiated protection that reduces only the exposure of pregnant workers (or only of female workers) and unified protection that reduces the exposure of all workers to a level that is sufficiently low to protect against detrimental effects on the foetus. The former strategy is shown to be inefficient, as it does not provide the desired protection. Protection only of pregnant workers is insufficient since protection is needed early in pregnancy when it is not known, and in the case of substances that are accumulated in the woman's body even prior to conception. Protection of all women is also insufficient to protect the foetus since evidence indicates that preconception exposure of the father can also give rise to malformations. Furthermore, differentiated protection that requires more costly protective measures for women tends to aggravate the already prevalent discrimination of women on the labour market. It is therefore concluded that unified protection is the only efficient and non-discriminatory strategy against foetal damage.
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| 10. |
- Jiang, Zheshun, et al.
(författare)
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Hexavalent chromium still a concern in Sweden : Evidence from a cross-sectional study within the SafeChrom project
- 2024
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Ingår i: International journal of hygiene and environmental health (Print). - : Elsevier. - 1438-4639 .- 1618-131X. ; 256
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- ObjectivesHexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) is classified as a human carcinogen. Occupational Cr(VI) exposure can occur during different work processes, but the current exposure to Cr(VI) at Swedish workplaces is unknown.MethodsThis cross-sectional study (SafeChrom) recruited non-smoking men and women from 14 companies with potential Cr(VI) exposure (n = 113) and controls from 6 companies without Cr(VI) exposure (n = 72). Inhalable Cr(VI) was measured by personal air sampling (outside of respiratory protection) in exposed workers. Total Cr was measured in urine (pre- and post-shift, density-adjusted) and red blood cells (RBC) (reflecting Cr(VI)) in exposed workers and controls. The Bayesian tool Expostats was used to assess risk and evaluate occupational exposure limit (OEL) compliance.ResultsThe exposed workers performed processing of metal products, steel production, welding, plating, and various chemical processes. The geometric mean concentration of inhalable Cr(VI) in exposed workers was 0.15 μg/m3 (95% confidence interval: 0.11–0.21). Eight of the 113 exposed workers (7%) exceeded the Swedish OEL of 5 μg/m3, and the Bayesian analysis estimated the share of OEL exceedances up to 19.6% for stainless steel welders. Median post-shift urinary (0.60 μg/L, 5th-95th percentile 0.10–3.20) and RBC concentrations (0.73 μg/L, 0.51–2.33) of Cr were significantly higher in the exposed group compared with the controls (urinary 0.10 μg/L, 0.06–0.56 and RBC 0.53 μg/L, 0.42–0.72). Inhalable Cr(VI) correlated with urinary Cr (rS = 0.64) and RBC-Cr (rS = 0.53). Workers within steel production showed the highest concentrations of inhalable, urinary and RBC Cr. Workers with inferred non-acceptable local exhaustion ventilation showed significantly higher inhalable Cr(VI), urinary and RBC Cr concentrations compared with those with inferred acceptable ventilation. Furthermore, workers with inferred correct use of respiratory protection were exposed to significantly higher concentrations of Cr(VI) in air and had higher levels of Cr in urine and RBC than those assessed with incorrect or no use. Based on the Swedish job-exposure-matrix, approximately 17 900 workers were estimated to be occupationally exposed to Cr(VI) today.ConclusionsOur study demonstrates that some workers in Sweden are exposed to high levels of the non-threshold carcinogen Cr(VI). Employers and workers seem aware of Cr(VI) exposure, but more efficient exposure control strategies are required. National strategies aligned with the European strategies are needed in order to eliminate this cause of occupational cancer.
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