KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2013 Apr;65(3):304-10. doi: 10.1016/j.yrtph.2013.01.006. Epub 2013 Jan 30.
The efficiency of a risk management tool, such as occupational exposure limits (OELs), partly depends on the responsible parties' awareness and understanding of it. The aim of this study was to measure the awareness and understanding of OELs at Swedish workplaces and to collect opinions on their use and function. Through a web-based questionnaire targeting workers that are exposed to air pollutants or chemicals, and persons working with occupational health and safety or in management at workplaces where workers are exposed to air pollutants or chemicals 1017 responses were collected. The results show that awareness and understanding of Swedish OELs is low among workers, as well as managers and occupational health and safety employees. Statistically significant, but small, differences were found depending on the size of the company and the position in the company. Based on the results, it is recommended that authorities and the social partners target this lack of awareness and understanding regarding OELs. Also, other tools to ascertain a safe working environment with regards to chemicals exposure might be useful for Swedish workplaces.
风险管理工具（如职业接触限值 (OEL)）的效率在一定程度上取决于相关责任方对其的认识和理解。本研究旨在测量瑞典工作场所对 OEL 的认识和理解程度，并收集对其使用和功能的意见。通过针对接触空气污染物或化学物质的工人以及在接触空气污染物或化学物质的工作场所从事职业健康和安全工作或管理人员的网络问卷调查，共收集了 1017 份回复。结果表明，工人、管理人员和职业健康与安全人员对瑞典 OEL 的认识和理解程度较低。根据公司规模和公司职位的不同，存在具有统计学意义但较小的差异。基于这些结果，建议当局和社会合作伙伴针对 OEL 缺乏认识和理解这一问题采取行动。此外，对于瑞典的工作场所而言，其他用于确定化学物质接触安全工作环境的工具可能也是有用的。
