Assessment and management of occupational risks in the Nordic (Scandinavian) countries.

Occupational health standards in the Scandinavian countries are of national concern and may thus vary from country to country. There is an internordic collaboration in the scientific criteria work, but there are also national formal procedures for standard setting. There is a greater tendency to accept eye, nose, or throat irritations as indices of harm than the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) does. For organic solvents, neurotoxicity has been focused on for many years, although the differences between values in the ACGIH list and in the Nordic countries have diminished. Occupational standard setting in the Nordic countries is much influenced by technological feasibility and socioeconomic criteria. Sweden has a formalized procedure for the underlying scientific and transscientific assessments.