ABSTRACT
A goal of all occupational safety and health programs is the prevention of adverse health effects resulting from exposure to chemical, biological, or physical agents in the work environment. The risk of adverse health effects occurring in a population of workers is dependent on three factors: the inherent toxicity or hazard of the agent, the number and susceptibility of the employees handling the agent, and the uses of the agent resulting in a potential for exposure. Biological markers or biomarkers are observed or measured events in biological systems or samples. The periodic measurement of biomarkers of exposure is referred to as biomonitoring. It is an industrial hygiene tool for assessing a worker’s exposure to chemical, physical, or biological agents. Health care workers are potentially exposed to a large and myriad number of different drugs during the course of the work day and exposures may occur through one or more routes, including inhalation, dermal absorption, inadvertent ingestion, or injection.
