title: Definitions of monitoring activities and their relevance for the practice of occupational health.
abstract: The authors discuss the definitions of environmental monitoring (EM), biological monitoring (BM) and health surveillance (HS) as agreed upon by a CEC/NIOSH/OSHA-seminar in 1980. They emphasize the essential differences in underlying principles. They add a fourth definition of biological effect monitoring (BEM). Each method has its own assets and liabilities. Moreover, EM and BM require another decision-making process (situation-centered) then BEM and HS (client-entered) of measures to be taken. When the differences between the four approaches are not taken into account, valid preventive measures may be hampered.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D003657:Decision Making; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D006197:Hair / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008861:Microsomes / Q000201:enzymology; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000032:analysis; D009262:Nails / Q000032:analysis; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D009787:Occupational Medicine; D011247:Pregnancy; D012660:Semantics; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D014131:Trace Elements