Suchergebnisse

Abstract
Occupational biomonitoring plays a pivotal role in the assessment and management of chemical workplace exposures. It provides a direct measure of workers' internal dose of chemicals, integrating all sources and routes of exposure. Biomonitoring can bridge the gap between potential exposure scenarios and real-world implications for worker health. Nevertheless, the practical effectiveness of biomonitoring programs relies on the assurance of data quality, comparability, and practical application of the findings to improve occupational health standards.
The ISES Europe Human Biomonitoring working group was established in 2018 with the ambition to promote the generation of high-quality biomonitoring data and its use in occupational settings. Our group made notable progress, especially in establishing standardized Minimum Information Requirements (MIRs). MIRs are sets of guideline specifications that define the structure of minimum metadata attributes in terms of semantics, syntax, findability, and reusability of biomonitoring datasets. MIRs will help in standardising biomonitoring records. It is a complementary approach to the already established personalised medical biomonitoring of occupational medicine.
MIRs will not only improve the consistency and reliability of biomonitoring studies but also help foster a culture of safety and sustainability. By integrating advances in exposure science, including New Approach Methodologies and exposure modelling, into the biomonitoring framework, we can achieve a more robust understanding of occupational exposures. This will ultimately contribute to the refinement and application of Occupational Exposure Limits and Occupational Biomonitoring levels, the design of safer chemicals, and the implementation of effective risk management strategies, thereby safeguarding worker health.

Water is a vital resource for natural ecosystems and human life, and assuring a high quality of water and protecting it from chemical contamination is a major societal goal in the European Union. The Water Framework Directive (WFD) and its daughter directives are the major body of legislation for the protection and sustainable use of European freshwater resources. The practical implementation of the WFD with regard to chemical pollution has faced some challenges. In support of the upcoming WFD review in 2019 the research project SOLUTIONS and the European monitoring network NORMAN has analyzed these challenges, evaluated the state-of-the-art of the science and suggested possible solutions. We give 10 recommendations to improve monitoring and to strengthen comprehensive prioritization, to foster consistent assessment and to support solution-oriented management of surface waters. The integration of effect-based tools, the application of passive sampling for bioaccumulative chemicals and an integrated strategy for prioritization of contaminants, accounting for knowledge gaps, are seen as important approaches to advance monitoring. Including all relevant chemical contaminants in more holistic "chemical status" assessment, using effect-based trigger values to address priority mixtures of chemicals, to better consider historical burdens accumulated in sediments and to use models to fill data gaps are recommended for a consistent assessment of contamination. Solution-oriented management should apply a tiered approach in investigative monitoring to identify toxicity drivers, strengthen consistent legislative frameworks and apply solutions-oriented approaches that explore risk reduction scenarios before and along with risk assessment.