Ensuring coherence in occupational biomonitoring: a call for alignment and collaboration

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health and Safety
• Environmental Health
• Toxicology

Background:

• Biomonitoring is crucial for assessing worker exposure to hazardous substances.
• Current European Union (EU) regulations, including recent EU-OSHA 2025 guidance, inadequately frame biomonitoring within medical surveillance.
• This framing limits biomonitoring's preventive potential and excludes key professionals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the exclusion of certified occupational hygienists from biomonitoring-based exposure assessments.
• To advocate for a revised regulatory approach that integrates occupational hygienists into biomonitoring protocols.
• To encourage collaboration between occupational hygienists and occupational medical doctors for enhanced worker health protection.

Main Methods:

• This is a commentary, not an empirical study.
• Analysis of current EU regulations and EU-OSHA guidance concerning biomonitoring.
• Expert opinion from a multidisciplinary team of occupational hygienists and occupational medical doctors.

Main Results:

• The current EU regulatory framework, particularly the EU-OSHA 2025 guidance, excludes certified occupational hygienists from conducting exposure assessments via biomonitoring.
• This exclusion represents a missed opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration.
• The existing structure limits the effective use of biomonitoring as a preventive occupational health tool.

Conclusions:

• Biomonitoring is underutilized as a preventive tool due to regulatory limitations.
• A more integrated approach involving occupational hygienists and occupational medical doctors is necessary.
• Revising EU guidance can optimize biomonitoring for comprehensive worker health protection.