Titles of lectures are numbered. Hyperlinks are to websites or journal
articles that were either mentioned in the lecture or are directly related to
the topic.
Shift Work and Cancer
1. Shift work and cancer: principles, perspectives and pitfalls of
"white-box" epidemiology
IARC
Monographs (Vol. 98): Shiftwork
Why most published
research findings are false.
2. Shift work and cancer--state of science and practical consequences
"Published evidence is widely seen as suggestive but not
conclusive for an adverse association between night work and breast cancer,
and limited and inconsistent for cancers at other sites and all cancers
combined."
3. The carcinogenicity of shift work--the IARC evaluation and beyond
"Exposure to light at night disturbs the circadian system with
alterations of sleep-activity patterns, suppression of melatonin production,
and deregulation of circadian genes involved in cancer-related pathways. In
animals, melatonin suppression can lead to changes in the gonadotrophin
axis. In humans, sleep deprivation and the ensuing melatonin suppression
lead to immunodeficiency."
REACH and Other Regulations
1. Labelling of hazardous chemicals under GHS
What
is GHS?
Online
chapters from GHS
2. Biological reference values for exposure assessment of chemical substances
at the workplace
"BAR relate to background levels of substances present in
biological materials in a reference population of persons of working age who
are not additionally occupationally exposed to the substances. . . . Since
2008, BAR have been established for 14 chemical compounds . . ."
What
are BAR values?
3. The concept of SCOEL to set OELs
What
is SCOEL?
The Scientific Committee is composed of 21 experts in chemistry, toxicology,
epidemiology, occupational medicine, and industrial hygiene.
4. The role of expert judgement and conceptional approaches in setting OELs by
the German MAK Commission
"Extrapolation from animal data and the establishment of the
margin between NOAEL and MAK/BAT values is done by expert judgement, not by
general extrapolation factors."
What
are MAK values?
Recent
evaluations by MAK Commission including Bisphenol A
5. Occupational exposure limits and REACH
"REACH regulations require the registrant to determine
"derived no-effect-levels" (DNELs) when preparing the chemical
safety report."
What
is REACH?
How will
REACH work?
6. Management of chemicals: the global context
What is
SAICM?
Nanotechnology
1. Exposure assessment strategies of engineered nanomaterials in the workplace
What
is NANODEVICE?
Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) are used mainly as additives to
polymers and to improve metals, e.g., aeronautical.
There is no evidence that nanoparticles are released from the
abrasion of ENMs embedded in a matrix material.
There is no good data that ultrafine particles cause
cardiovascular disease. The olfactory nerve can uptake inhaled nanoparticles,
but no evidence yet that ENMs can pass through the blood-brain barrier.
The penetration of a dust mask actually decreases as particles
approach the nanoparticle size due to increased random motion of these
smaller particles.
BAuA:
Nanotechnology
2. Evaluation of nanoparticles by the German MAK Commission
"Within this task, the principal question to be answered is
whether or not there are modes of action and/or target organs unique for
nanomaterials as compared to particles in the microscale range."
3. Nanotechnology--challenges for and solutions via inhalation toxicology
"The specific effects of a particle are determined by its
solubility, biopersistence, surface characteristics, crystallinity and chemical
composition."
4. Nanotoxicology, a challenge for nanotechnology
OECD:
Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials
5. Studies on the carcinogenicity of carbon nanotubes
"We found clear evidence of length-related inflammation in the
pleural space with long amosite asbestos and two long nanotube samples, while
all the short fibres samples of asbestos and nanotubes failed to elicit
significant inflammation."
Durability and
inflammogenic impact of carbon nanotubes compared with asbestos fibres.
Quantification
of the pathological response and fate in the lung and pleura of chrysotile in
combination with fine particles compared to amosite-asbestos following
short-term inhalation exposure.
For mesothelioma, the relative toxicity of chrysotile, amosite, and
crocidolite are 1, 100, and 500.
For lung cancer, the relative toxicity of chrysotile and amphibole
(amosite and crocidolite) are 1 and 10-50.
Biomarkers
1. Protein adduct analysis after short-term exposure to alkylating chemicals
“An accidental exposure of six workers to ethylene oxide (EO)
provided the rationale for follow-up biomonitoring . . . “
Follow-up
biomonitoring after accidental exposure to acrylonitrile:- implications for
protein adducts as a dose monitor for short-term exposures.
Quantification of
N-(3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl)valine in human haemoglobin as a biomarker of
epichlorohydrin exposure by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry with
stable-isotope dilution.
Ambient and
biochemical effect monitoring of workers exposed to ethylene oxide.
2. Assessing chemical exposures to improve health
What is the
California Biomonitoring Program?
What
are "emerging chemicals of concern" according to the Calif. Dept. of
Toxic Substances Control?
3. Uroscreen--tumor markers for early detection of bladder cancer in chemical
workers
"The low bladder cancer incidence resulted in low PPVs of all
tumor tests. However, the marker panel performed well in the detection of
bladder cancer at early stages. NMP22 resulted in a larger fraction of
false-positive results that the other tests due to a variety of confounding
factors."
UroVysion
FISH
NMP-22
Other Topics
1. Dose-response at very low exposures: Biological rhymes and reasons
"The European Union and many of its members make a
distinction between carcinogens that are genotoxic and those believed to
produce tumors by non-genotoxic mechanisms, and treat them differently with
respect to risk assessment models."
2. Exposure to ethyl methane sulfonate in a pharmaceutical: Risk assessment
for patients and workers
"The toxicological investigations of this incident may give
rise to the hypothesis that it might be time to question the existence of
non-threshold mutagens altogether."
3. Ototoxic substances at the workplace
EU-OSHA:
Combined exposure to noise and ototoxic substances
Nordic
Expert Group: Occupational exposure to chemicals and hearing impairment
Ototoxicity
of industrial chemicals alone or in combination with noise
4. The European social dialogue on crystalline silica
The European Network on Silica
5. Particulate matter in new technology diesel exhaust versus
traditional diesel exhaust
Diesel exhaust from advanced technology (post 2006) diesel engines
consists of an integrated system of advanced engine design, exhaust
after-treatment, and reformulated fuel and lube oil.
6. Psychosocial risks at the workplace
Is job strain
a major source of cardiovascular disease risk?