Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 16, 2025
10:10
Assessment of the Acute Inhalation Toxicity of Airborne Particles by Exposing Cultivated Human Lung Cells at the Air-Liquid Interface
Published on: February 23, 2020
7.0K
Toxicity reference values for force health protection: Provisional occupational exposure guidelines.
Lisa M Sweeney1, Teresa R Sterner2
1UES, Inc., 4401 Dayton Xenia Road, Dayton, OH, 45432, USA.
Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology : RTP
|August 16, 2024
Summary
Force Health Protection programs face challenges due to knowledge gaps in toxicity reference values (TRVs) for warfighter chemical exposures. This study derived provisional TRVs using multiple methods, enabling better risk-based decision-making for occupational safety.
Area of Science:
- Occupational Health
- Toxicology
- Risk Assessment
Background:
- Force Health Protection programs aim to maintain warfighter readiness.
- Existing knowledge gaps in toxicity reference values (TRVs) hinder risk assessment for chemical exposures.
- Hundreds of chemical substances of interest have undefined TRVs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To derive provisional TRVs for substances lacking established values.
- To address knowledge gaps constraining risk-based decision-making for occupational exposures.
- To evaluate various methods for estimating occupational TRVs.
Main Methods:
- Generated candidate TRVs using international databases, chemical similarity (nearest neighbor), duration adjustments, quantitative activity relationships, and thresholds of toxicological concern.
- Selected provisional TRVs based on a weight of evidence approach, prioritizing rodent bioassay-derived Derived No-Effect Levels (DNELs) when available.
- Employed novel nearest-neighbor approaches, empirical adjustments, and occupational exposure banding for TRV estimation.
Main Results:
- Candidate TRVs were generated for 84 compounds, representing 18% of substances of interest.
- Only 19 DNELs were available, necessitating reliance on other estimation methods.
- Nearest-neighbor approaches, empirical adjustments, and occupational exposure bands proved effective for estimating TRVs with reasonable confidence.
Conclusions:
- Provisional TRVs can be derived using a combination of methods to fill critical knowledge gaps.
- Weight of evidence, considering approach quality and consistency, is crucial for selecting reliable TRVs.
- These derived TRVs support improved risk-based decision-making for warfighter occupational health and safety.
Related Concept Videos
01:36Types of Toxins
1.7K
Humans continually engage with an environment rich in potentially harmful chemicals. These are introduced to our bodies through inhalation, ingestion, or skin contact. These chemicals exist in various forms, such as air and environmental pollutants, agricultural chemicals, organic solvents, and heavy metals.
Air pollutants, primarily gases, pose significant threats to respiratory health, leading to conditions like hypoxia, lung cancer, and in extreme cases, death.
Environmental pollutants like...
Air pollutants, primarily gases, pose significant threats to respiratory health, leading to conditions like hypoxia, lung cancer, and in extreme cases, death.
Environmental pollutants like...
1.7K
01:26Standard Precaution
1.9K
Standard precautions are the minimum infection control safeguards used while caring for all patients, irrespective of their disease condition. They help prevent the spread of common infectious microorganisms to healthcare workers, patients, and visitors in all healthcare settings.
Hand hygiene is the most crucial means to prevent the transmission of disease. Employers are legally required to provide their workers with personal protective equipment (PPE) to minimize exposure or contact with...
Hand hygiene is the most crucial means to prevent the transmission of disease. Employers are legally required to provide their workers with personal protective equipment (PPE) to minimize exposure or contact with...
1.9K
01:25Transmission-based Precautions II: Airborne and Protective Environment
1.2K
Transmission-based precautions are for patients infected or suspected to be infected (or colonized) with organisms posing a significant risk to others. The transmission precautions include airborne and protective environment precautions.
Airborne precautions:
Use airborne precautions when treating patients known or suspected to have diseases that spread through the air—for example, tuberculosis or measles. These organisms are present in smaller droplets expelled by an infected person and...
Airborne precautions:
Use airborne precautions when treating patients known or suspected to have diseases that spread through the air—for example, tuberculosis or measles. These organisms are present in smaller droplets expelled by an infected person and...
1.2K
01:20Personal Protective Equipment
1.5K
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is unique clothing or equipment worn by an employee to minimize or prevent exposure to infectious agents. PPE creates a barrier between the employee and the infectious materials. PPE must be readily available in the patient care area. PPE includes gloves, gowns and aprons, masks and respirators, goggles, face shields, shoes, and headcovers:
1.5K
01:22PPE Use in Healthcare Settings I: Donning
939
Donning PPE must be completed before contact with the patient. This process protects from infectious agents. The sequence and action included in each donning are critical, and the steps must be systematic to avoid exposure to pathogens. The institutional policy also needs to be followed while donning PPE. The pre-donning preparations are gathering equipment, inspecting the PPE equipment for tears, holes, or damage, removing jewelry, removing any garments below the elbows, and tying the hair...
939