Beliefs and practices in the assessment of workplace pollutants

A survey was undertaken among Swiss occupational hygienists and other professionals to identify the different exposure assessment methods used, the contextual parameters observed and the uses, difficulties and possible developments of exposure models for field application.

A questionnaire was mailed to 121 occupational hygienists, all members of the Swiss Occupational Hygiene Society. A shorter questionnaire was also sent to registered occupational physicians and selected safety specialists. Descriptive statistics and multivariate analyses were performed.

The response rate for occupational hygienists was 60%. The so-called expert judgement appeared to be the most widely used method, but its efficiency and reliability were both judged with very low scores. Long-term sampling was perceived as the most efficient and reliable method. Various determinants of exposure, such as emission rate and work activity, were often considered important, even though they were not included in the exposure assessment processes. Near field local phenomena determinants were also judged important for operator exposure estimation.

Exposure models should be improved to integrate factors which are more easily accessible to practitioners. Descriptors of emission and local phenomena should also be included.