BACKGROUND Immune suppression may be a critical effect associated with exposure to perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), as indicated by recent data on vaccine antibody responses in children. Therefore, this information may be crucial when deciding on exposure limits. METHODS Results obtained from follow-up of a Faroese birth cohort were used. Serum-PFC concentrations were measured at age 5 years,...

The expert method of exposure assignment involves relying on chemists or hygienists to estimate occupational exposures using information collected on study subjects. Once the estimation method for a particular contaminant has been made available in the literature, it is not known whether a non-expert, briefly trained by an expert remaining available to answer ad hoc questions, can provide relia...

background: hairdressers are occupationally exposed to a number of agents in their workplace that result in respiratory symptoms and changes in pulmonary function. objective: to evaluate associations between occupational exposure and respiratory function and reported symptoms in a group of hairdressers compared to a control group. methods: a questionnaire on respiratory symptoms and workplace c...

background: noise as a most common harmful physical agent in workplaces has some effects on the exposed persons such as hearing threshold reduction, increasing blood pressure, and interference with the speech. the adverse side-effect of noise is one of the scientific areas that have seldom been considered by researchers. the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of occupational noise...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to measure ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposures of lifeguards in pool settings and evaluate their personal UVR protective practices. METHODS Lifeguards (n = 168) wore UVR sensitive polysulfone (PS) film badges in wrist bracelets on 2 days and completed a survey and diary covering sun protection use. Analyses were used to describe sun exposure and sun prot...

BACKGROUND Chronic particulate matter (PM) exposure is correlated to various health effects, even at low amounts. WHO has defined PM concentration limits as daily and annual mean values which were made legally binding in the European Union. While many studies have focused on PM concentrations in special environments, little is known about the average PM- exposure for both employees and passenge...

A previous case-control study which utilised the occupational information available on the New Zealand Cancer Registry found an increased risk of multiple myeloma in agricultural workers consistent with previous findings in the United States. The findings are now presented for the second phase of the study which involved interviewing 76 cases of multiple myeloma (who had been included in the pr...

Introduction: Active personal dosimeters (APDs) are well accepted as useful and reliable instruments for individual dosimetry measurements. APDs have many advantages compared with passive dosimeters for individual external radiation dose assessments. In routine monitoring, occupational exposure is carried out for verification and demonstration of compliance with the regulatory dose limits. So, ...