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This chapter provides a general introduction to the use of exposure surrogates, job exposure matrices, self reports, and expert evaluations for exposure in occupational and environmental epidemiological studies. It provides estimates for the validity and reliability of the various approaches. It provides various examples and references.

Occupational health services in industry provide health care and preventive services in order to maintain the health of all employees, not just to provide medical care for the injured or those who have been made ill by a hazard. Thus, occupational health services may be divided into curative, or treatment-oriented, and preventive services. Occupational health services may be located in the plant, or off site. A corporate medical department usually coordinates occupational health throughout the enterprise. There should be a written occupational health policy that spells out the responsibility of employers for the health of workers and the responsibility of workers to report problems. Enterprises with more than 1000 workers usually need a full-time, in-house corporate medical department. This department should have a close working relationship with safety and occupational hygiene departments and they are often combined. It is generally better that the occupational health service not be managed under the department of human resources or personnel, where hiring and termination decisions are made and insurance claims are managed. Occupational health and safety must ultimately be the responsibility of supervisors and managers in production and they must be held accountable for injuries and avoidable hazards in the work areas they manage, with support from the occupational health service. The occupational health service has to be seen by the workers as neutral and working for their interests, not as looking for ways to fire them or to deny their claims. Occupational health services should maintain detailed records on the personal health of workers and should keep them strictly confidential. Workers’ compensation is a form of insurance that is compulsory for employers in many countries.

This chapter provides a general introduction to the assessment of dermal exposure in occupational and environmental epidemiological studies. It describes models that could be used for the assessment. It provides various examples and references.

Occupational hazards of a physical nature may be chemical, biological and physical. Exposure assessment is the process of measuring the intensity of exposures for the purpose of identifying hazards, classifying exposure levels and setting priorities for control. This must be done in the workplace itself. The professionals who conduct exposure assessment studies are called occupational hygienists. A typical exposure assessment first involves identifying which hazards are likely to be present and where they are likely to be in the workplace. The intensity of the exposure to specific hazards is then measured where they occur, using appropriate technology. Often, samples have to be taken for laboratory analysis but at other times the occupational hygienist uses portable instruments on the site. Building-related illness, which is often called “sick building syndrome” is a particular problem in exposure assessment. Workers in some buildings have unusually high rates of health complaints and symptoms. Building-related illness due to irritant exposures often causes symptoms in people with asthma and allergies, who tend to be much more susceptible to irritants, before other people even notice a problem. Occasionally, there is no cause and the reasons for the building-related illness are psychological, although one never assumes this until an assessment has been completed. Most often, it is caused by poor ventilation, especially when a building is airtight to save energy.

This chapter provides a general introduction to the assessment of allergen exposures in occupational and environmental epidemiological studies. It discusses strategies and methods used, and provides various examples and references.

This chapter covers occupational and environmental hygiene principles and their application. This information is vital to understanding and preventing hazardous exposures and associated adverse health effects, among workers and the general population. The chapter addresses anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of hazards, including toxic materials, noise, ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, air pollution, water contamination, and related topics. Illustrative examples of these topics are described, such as common industrial processes that may result in exposure to hazardous agents, important exposure pathways, strategies to characterize exposure, the hierarchy of exposure control strategies, and known sources of environmental contaminants of concern. The chapter also includes lists of resources that provide additional information on relevant topics of interest.

This chapter provides an overview of exposure assessment methods in occupational and environmental epidemiology. It describes in brief strategies for the exposure assessment, use of questionnaire, biomonitoring, measurement, modelling, retrospective assessment, exposure surrogates, self-reports, PBPK models, and measurement error. It provides various examples and references.

This chapter provides a general introduction to the measurement and modeling of personal environmental exposures for occupational and environmental epidemiological studies. It discusses the various methods and samplers that can be used, and the general strategy and methods to conduct a personal monitoring campaign. It provides various examples and references.

This chapter provides a general introduction to the modeling of personal environmental exposures for occupational and environmental epidemiological studies. It discusses in detail the use of analyses of variance and regression analyses in these types of studies. It provides various examples and references.

This chapter provides a general introduction to retrospective exposure assessment for exposure in occupational and environmental epidemiological studies. It provides a number of strategies of how to approach this, and stresses the importance of a pilot study. It provides examples of data sources for historical exposures, and various examples and references.

This chapter provides a general introduction to the assessment of pesticides in occupational epidemiological studies. It discusses strategies and methods used. It provides various examples and references.

This chapter provides a general introduction to the assessment of radiofrequency in occupational and environmental epidemiological studies. It discusses strategies and methods used. It provides various examples and references.

This chapter provides a general overview of the use of exposure questionnaires in environmental epidemiology, and issues related to the design, use, and validation of these questionnaires. It provides various examples and references.

This chapter provides a general introduction to physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling of exposure in occupational and environmental epidemiological studies. It describes models that could be used for the assessment. It provides various examples and references.

This chapter provides a general introduction to exposure misclassification and measurement error in occupational and environmental epidemiological studies. It describes its original, methods to quantify it, and methods to correct for it. It provides various examples and references.

This chapter provides a general introduction to biological monitoring of exposure in occupational and environmental epidemiological studies. It describes models that could be used for the assessment and strategies for biological monitoring, including issues that need to be taken into account. It provides various examples and references.

This chapter provides a general introduction to the measurement and modeling of environmental exposures for environmental epidemiological studies, focusing on source based modeling. It provides various examples and references.

This chapter provides a general introduction to the measurement and modeling of environmental exposures for environmental epidemiological studies, with specific reference to the use of geographical information systems (GIS). It provides an introduction of the general principles of the use of these techniques, and various examples and references.