1 research outputs found
Potential health risk of endocrine disruptors in construction sector and plastics industry: a new paradigm in occupational health
Endocrine disruptors (EDs) belong to large and diverse groups of agents that may cause
multiple biological effects associated with, for example, hormone imbalance and infertility, chronic
diseases such as diabetes, genome damage and cancer. The health risks related with the exposure to
EDs are typically underestimated, less well characterized, and not regulated to the same extent as, for
example, carcinogens. The increased production and utilization of identified or suspected EDs in
many different technological processes raises new challenges with respect to occupational exposure
settings and associated health risks. Due to the specific profile of health risk, occupational exposure
to EDs demands a new paradigm in health risk assessment, redefinition of exposure assessment, new
effects biomarkers for occupational health surveillance and definition of limit values. The construction
and plastics industries are among the strongest economic sectors, employing millions of workers
globally. They also use large quantities of chemicals that are known or suspected EDs. Focusing on
these two industries, this short communication discusses: (a) why occupational exposure to EDs
needs a more specific approach to occupational health risk assessments, (b) identifies the current
knowledge gaps, and (c) identifies and gives a rationale for a future occupational health paradigm,
which will include ED biomarkers as a relevant parameter in occupational health risk assessment,
surveillance and exposure preventioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio