ABSTRACT
Limit Values.................................................................................................. 117 6.6 Information Sources on Hazards Related to the Use of Chemical Agents
in the Workplace ........................................................................................... 117 6.6.1 Safety Data Sheets for Chemical Substances and Preparations ....... 117
6.7 EU Policy Regarding Chemical Agents-REACH Regulation ................... 119 6.7.1 REACH Regulation Provisions ........................................................ 119 6.7.2 Main Elements of REACH ............................................................... 119
6.8 Testing and Measuring Chemical Substances in the Workplace Air for Occupational Exposure Assessment ............................................................. 120 6.8.1 Methods for Measuring Chemical Agents in the Workplace Air ..... 121 6.8.2 Strategy of Measurements for Inhalation Exposure Assessment ..... 122
6.8.2.1 Assessment of Occupational Inhalation Exposure ............ 123 6.8.3 Strategy for Dermal Exposure Assessment ...................................... 125
6.9 Estimation and Control of Occupational Risk Caused by Exposure to Harmful Chemical Agents in the Work Environment .................................. 126 6.9.1 Principles of Quantitative Risk Assessment of Inhalation Exposure .......................................................................... 127
Due to the high level of industrialisation in the contemporary world, humans are increasingly exposed to dangerous chemicals in their work and living environments. Chemicals cause many diseases, including insufcient respiratory ability, inammatory skin conditions, psychoneurological disorders, and neoplastic diseases. Studies conducted by the European Foundation of Living and Working Conditions in Dublin on the work conditions in the countries of the European Union (EU) in 2005-2006 showed that 18% of workers were exposed to or came in contact with chemical agents, including 20.5% through the respiratory tract (Parent-Thirion et al. 2007). In 2007, more than 74,000 deaths due to chemical exposure were recorded in the EU-27 member states (Takala et al. 2009; Musu 2007). One in three occupational diseases recognised every year in the 15 EU countries is caused by exposure to chemical agents (Eurostat 2004).
