Development and piloting of an exposure database and surveillance system for DOE cleanup operations. Department of...

An industrial hygiene exposure database and surveillance system was developed in partnership between National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-funded independent investigators and practicing industrial hygienists at the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (RFETS) in Golden, Colo. RFETS is a former U.S. Department of Energy nuclear weapons plant that is now in cleanup phase. This project is presented as a case study in the development of an exposure database and surveillance system in terms that are generalizable to most other industries and work contexts. Steps include gaining organizational support; defining system purpose and scope; defining database elements and coding; planning practical and efficient analysis strategies; incorporating reporting capabilities; and anticipating communication strategies that maximize the probability that surveillance findings will feed back to preventive applications. For each of these topics, the authors describe both general considerations as well as the specific choices made for this system. An important feature of the system is a two-tier task-coding scheme comprising 33 categories of task groups. Examples of grouped analyses of exposure data captured during the system pilot period demonstrate applications to exposure control, medical surveillance, and other preventive measures.