Many paths to one goal for occupational risk assessment: Insights from a practitioner dialogue

Assessing and minimizing potential health risks from chemical exposure in the workplace is a crucial role for an industrial hygiene professional. It is also a core objective for government agencies conducting research, developing guidance, and enforcing laws to protect occupational populations. The specific methods for occupational risk assessment-and in some cases, the sophistication of these methods-are evolving in the face of emerging technologies and changing regulations. Occupational health risks identified in recent agency assessments have led to increased dialogue among stakeholders and agencies regarding foundational practices and opportunities for standardizing a baseline methodology that can be made fit-for-purpose for specific programs. In response, the Foundation for Chemistry Research and Initiatives (FCRI) and the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA)^® jointly initiated a workshop series with an overall objective to facilitate conversations and knowledge-sharing regarding best practices for occupational risk assessment. This review summarizes the major topics discussed at the workshops and presents key guidance documents and other resources identified during and following the series. Specific topics discussed included: (1) foundational practices for collecting empirical industrial hygiene data, (2) optimizing use of near-field exposure models, (3) improving dermal exposure assessment, and (4) developing and applying occupational exposure limits for risk management. An overarching theme across the series was that while there often is no single best method, the goals of the assessment must be considered when selecting the methods and tools for each assessment. In other words, the nature of the question or issue that the risk assessor is addressing in the assessment must be defined and considered before starting the assessment and throughout its entirety, including when interpreting the results.