title: Rules and recent trends for setting health-based occupational exposure limits for chemicals.
abstract: The working environment is the special case of the non-natural environment created by man in which the increased production activity brings about the concentration of stimulators particularly aggressive to the human organism, such as chemical hazards, noise, vibration, extreme temperatures, and finally, intensified psychological and emotional stress. Depending on the nature and intensity, working environment factors have been classified into dangerous, harmful and annoying. The workers are more and more frequently exposed to dangerous chemicals in the working environment. The chemicals cause many diseases including, in the 1st place, respiratory insufficiency, inflammatory skin conditions, psychoneurological disorders and neoplastic diseases. Occupational exposure limit values (OELs), the main criteria for occupational exposure assessment, constitute an important factor for the safe use of chemicals in the working environment. In Poland, to date there are 524 chemical substances and 19 dusts for which maximum admissible concentrations (MAC) have been established.
authors.affiliation: Central Institute for Labour Protection - National Research Institute, Warszawa, Poland (Department of Chemical, Aerosol and Biological Hazards). josko@ciop.pl.
authors.forename: Jolanta
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Skowroń
authors.affiliation: Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Łódź, Poland (Department of Chemical Safety).
authors.forename: Sławomir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Czerczak
mesh_terms: D002274:Carcinogens, Environmental; D004391:Dust; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D015386:Hazardous Substances; D006801:Humans; D008452:Maximum Allowable Concentration; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000517:prevention & control; D016272:Occupational Health / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000639:trends*; D011044:Poland
chemical_list: D002274:Carcinogens, Environmental; D004391:Dust; D015386:Hazardous Substances
keywords: MAC; OEL; chemicals; legislation; occupational exposure limit