Exposure estimation in four major epidemiologic studies in the acrylonitrile industry

The reconstruction of worker exposures has been the mainstay of modem industrial epidemiologic studies. In most cases, the researchers are faced with the difficult dilemma created by the scarcity of the exposure measurement data vis-à-vis the demands for refined quantification. The 4 industrial epidemiologic studies of workers exposed to acrylonitrile share many similarities to illustrate strengths and weaknesses of the current exposure reconstruction methodologies. The analysis of the reported exposure reconstruction methods and comparative analysis of some of the results suggest that there is a certain degree of conformity in the results of the exposure reconstruction processes in these 4 studies. At the same time, the same analysis invokes some questions with respect to the interpretation of the exposure reconstruction results.