Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden (Integrative Toxicology, Institute of Environmental Medicine).
Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2020 Sep 17;33(5):611-620. doi: 10.13075/ijomeh.1896.01493. Epub 2020 Jul 22.
Setting and implementing occupational exposure limits (OELs) is one of the measures taken to protect workers from adverse effects of hazardous chemicals. The EU Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) introduced an additional kind of exposure guidance values for workers; namely, the derived no effect level (DNEL) for workers' inhalation exposure (worker DNEL). About 500 substances have a Swedish OEL, while roughly 5000 substances have a worker DNEL derived by REACH registrants. This work aims to investigate how the Swedish OELs and worker DNELs are perceived at Swedish workplaces, and whether worker DNELs are considered a possible alternative to OELs when the latter are lacking.
An online questionnaire was designed and sent to Swedish companies identified through the European Chemicals Agency's database of registered substances (N = 126) and the Swedish Chemicals Agency's registry of companies that import or manufacture notifiable chemical products (N = 227). The response rates were 52% and 38%, respectively.
The respondents stated that they were using the Swedish OELs and most of them considered these to be a suitable risk management tool. As about one-third of the respondents expressed that they had some experience in using substances without the Swedish OELs, there are certain data gaps that worker DNELs may fill. One-third of the respondents familiar with worker DNELs stated that they would consider using worker DNELs for substances without the Swedish OELs. However, nearly half of the respondents reported to be unfamiliar with worker DNELs.
Poor familiarity with DNELs may pose an obstacle to properly recognizing DNELs' potential as well as the possible limitations of individual DNELs. There is a need for education about DNELs, as well as for tools facilitating the evaluation of DNELs and OELs from other sources in cases where the applicable Swedish OEL is lacking. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2020;33(5):611-20.
设定和实施职业接触限值（OEL）是保护工人免受有害化学品不良影响的措施之一。欧盟关于化学品注册、评估、授权和限制的法规（REACH）为工人引入了另一种接触指导值，即工人吸入接触的衍生无效应水平（worker DNEL）。大约有 500 种物质有瑞典 OEL，而大约有 5000 种物质通过 REACH 注册人得出了工人 DNEL。本工作旨在调查瑞典工作场所如何看待瑞典 OEL 和工人 DNEL，以及在缺乏后者的情况下，工人 DNEL 是否被视为 OEL 的可能替代物。
通过欧洲化学品管理局的注册物质数据库（N=126）和瑞典化学品管理局的进口或制造通知性化学产品的公司登记册（N=227），确定了瑞典公司，并设计了在线问卷发送给这些公司。回复率分别为 52%和 38%。
受访者表示他们正在使用瑞典 OEL，并且大多数人认为这些 OEL 是一种合适的风险管理工具。由于约三分之一的受访者表示他们在使用没有瑞典 OEL 的物质方面有一些经验，因此可能存在某些数据空白，工人 DNEL 可以填补这些空白。三分之一熟悉工人 DNEL 的受访者表示，他们将考虑在没有瑞典 OEL 的情况下使用工人 DNEL 来处理物质。然而，近一半的受访者表示不熟悉工人 DNEL。
对 DNEL 的熟悉程度较差可能会对正确认识 DNEL 的潜力以及个别 DNEL 的可能局限性构成障碍。需要对 DNEL 进行教育，以及在缺乏适用的瑞典 OEL 的情况下，需要有工具来评估来自其他来源的 DNEL 和 OEL。国际职业医学与环境卫生杂志。2020；33（5）：611-20。
