Abstract
On 20 October 2020, the Working Group “Exposure Models” of the Europe Regional Chapter of the International Society of Exposure Science (ISES Europe) organised an online workshop to discuss the theoretical background of models for the assessment of occupational exposure to chemicals. In this report, participants of the workshop with an active role before and during the workshop summarise the most relevant discussion points and conclusions of this well-attended workshop. ISES Europe has identified exposure modelling as one priority area for the strategic development of exposure science in Europe in the coming years. This specific workshop aimed to discuss the main challenges in developing, validating, and using occupational-exposure models for regulatory purposes. The theoretical background, application domain, and limitations of different modelling approaches were presented and discussed, focusing on empirical “modifying-factor” or “mass-balance-based” approaches. During the discussions, these approaches were compared and analysed. Possibilities to address the discussed challenges could be a validation study involving alternative modelling approaches. The wider discussion touched upon the close relationship between modelling and monitoring and the need for better linkage of the methods and the need for common monitoring databases that include data on model parameters.
Highlights
Differences in the interpretation of the theoretical background of two specific models (i.e., STOFFENMANAGER® and ART) have led to controversy regarding the accuracy of some of the models‘ components and subsequent results [10,11,12,13,14]. To contribute to this ongoing scientific discussion, this workshop was organised to discuss the challenges in occupational exposure modelling and the theoretical background of some of the existing occupational-exposure models and how they can be improved
The developers explained the theoretical background, differences, and validation status of the widely used tools STOFFENMANAGER® and ART as follows: ART is a multiplicative model based on modifying factors identified from a theoretical analysis and calibration
The workshop on the theoretical background of occupational-exposure models organised by the ISES Europe Working Group “Exposure Models”, aimed, among the objectives, to describe basic features of mass-balance-based and modifying-factor modelling approaches, identifying advantages and disadvantages of both approaches and classifying the reliability of the results
Summary
To comply with the REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) regulation (EC 1907/2006), quantitative occupational exposure assessments are needed to evaluate the occupational risk of chemicals for all the identified relevant exposure scenarios [1]. As defined by the European Chemical Agency (ECHA), it is possible to assess occupational exposure to chemicals by modelling, as an alternative or to complement workplace monitoring [1]. Beyond this specific regulatory context, the use of occupational-exposure models finds application in risk-assessment approaches related to workplace-specific legislation. The use of exposure modelling is considered in a recent European standard [2] as part of the basic occupational risk assessment. A brief description and appraisal of the models that are frequently used for REACH purposes has recently been provided [4]
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