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A Cumulative Risk Perspective for Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Professionals

Cumulative risk assessment (CRA) addresses the combined risk associated with chemical and non-chemical exposures. Although CRA approaches are utilized in environmental and ecological contexts, they are rarely applied in workplaces. In this perspectives article, we strive to raise awareness among occ...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Niemeier, Richard Todd, Williams, Pamela R.D., Rossner, Alan, Clougherty, Jane E., Rice, Glenn E.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7503320/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32878292
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17176342
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author Niemeier, Richard Todd
Williams, Pamela R.D.
Rossner, Alan
Clougherty, Jane E.
Rice, Glenn E.
author_facet Niemeier, Richard Todd
Williams, Pamela R.D.
Rossner, Alan
Clougherty, Jane E.
Rice, Glenn E.
author_sort Niemeier, Richard Todd
collection PubMed
description Cumulative risk assessment (CRA) addresses the combined risk associated with chemical and non-chemical exposures. Although CRA approaches are utilized in environmental and ecological contexts, they are rarely applied in workplaces. In this perspectives article, we strive to raise awareness among occupational health and safety (OHS) professionals and foster the greater adoption of a CRA perspective in practice. Specifically, we provide an overview of CRA literature as well as preliminary guidance on when to consider a CRA approach in occupational settings and how to establish reasonable boundaries. Examples of possible workplace co-exposures and voluntary risk management actions are discussed. We also highlight important implications for workplace CRA research and practice. In particular, future needs include simple tools for identifying combinations of chemical and non-chemical exposures, uniform risk management guidelines, and risk communication materials. Further development of practical CRA methods and tools are essential to meet the needs of complex and changing work environments.
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spelling pubmed-75033202020-09-23 A Cumulative Risk Perspective for Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Professionals Niemeier, Richard Todd Williams, Pamela R.D. Rossner, Alan Clougherty, Jane E. Rice, Glenn E. Int J Environ Res Public Health Article Cumulative risk assessment (CRA) addresses the combined risk associated with chemical and non-chemical exposures. Although CRA approaches are utilized in environmental and ecological contexts, they are rarely applied in workplaces. In this perspectives article, we strive to raise awareness among occupational health and safety (OHS) professionals and foster the greater adoption of a CRA perspective in practice. Specifically, we provide an overview of CRA literature as well as preliminary guidance on when to consider a CRA approach in occupational settings and how to establish reasonable boundaries. Examples of possible workplace co-exposures and voluntary risk management actions are discussed. We also highlight important implications for workplace CRA research and practice. In particular, future needs include simple tools for identifying combinations of chemical and non-chemical exposures, uniform risk management guidelines, and risk communication materials. Further development of practical CRA methods and tools are essential to meet the needs of complex and changing work environments. MDPI 2020-08-31 2020-09 /pmc/articles/PMC7503320/ /pubmed/32878292 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17176342 Text en © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Niemeier, Richard Todd
Williams, Pamela R.D.
Rossner, Alan
Clougherty, Jane E.
Rice, Glenn E.
A Cumulative Risk Perspective for Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Professionals
title A Cumulative Risk Perspective for Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Professionals
title_full A Cumulative Risk Perspective for Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Professionals
title_fullStr A Cumulative Risk Perspective for Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Professionals
title_full_unstemmed A Cumulative Risk Perspective for Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Professionals
title_short A Cumulative Risk Perspective for Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Professionals
title_sort cumulative risk perspective for occupational health and safety (ohs) professionals
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7503320/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32878292
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17176342
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