Case Studies
Criteria Documents for Occupational Exposure Limits
In 2005, the IOM prepared summary Criteria Documents for the European Commission to support the setting of Occupational Exposure Limits (OELs) in Europe for 12 organic compounds including carcinogens such as acrylamide and irritants such as acrylic acid. The documents outline the chemical and physical properties of the compounds, their use within the EU and their toxicology including acute effects, irritancy, sensitisation, long term effects, cancer risks and reproductive toxicity. These documents will be used by the Scientific Committee on OELs (SCOEL) in their deliberations and will eventually underpin the Indicative Occupational Exposure Limit Values (IOELVs) that are adopted.
Health Impacts of Air Pollution in Central Scotland
In 2003, the IOM led a study that quantified the impacts of air pollution on health in Central Scotland and investigated the relative importance of industrial, traffic and distant source as a cause of adverse effects. The results of the study suggested that in 1998, about 250 deaths may have been brought forward as a result of exposure to airborne particles compared with a total of 33,000 deaths in the region as a whole. About 1% of about 52000 emergency hospital admissions for cardiovascular or respiratory illness may have been due to airborne particles and the long term effects of particle exposure may contribute to a loss of life expectancy of about 2 months over a lifetime. Surprisingly, the biggest impacts were associated with emissions from distant rather than local sources. Improvements in air quality over the last few years, mean that current impacts in Central Scotland would be much lower than in 1998. The full report is available from the Air Quality area of the Scottish Executive's website (www.scotland.gov.uk). Following on from this study, the IOM undertook assessments of the air quality impacts and wider health impacts of two proposed motorway schemes in Central Scotland for the Executive.