- Date 2021-07-05
On 15 and 16 June 2021, the ISSA Chemistry Section symposium on "Carcinogens: Risks and Prevention" took place as a web conference. The event was linked to current discussions at both national and European level on the continuation of the Cancer Directive by the EU Commission.
On the first day of the event, renowned speakers gave an insight into the scientific findings on the mode of action and the assessment of carcinogenic hazardous substances in the context of deriving exposure limit values for the workplace. Using two examples, ANSES presented their approach to the assessment of cytostatics and the assessment of alternatives for formaldehyde. Next, the procedure and the development of the approaches for deriving occupational exposure limit values were explained. Here, among other things, the development of the risk concept as an improvement in dealing with the risk at the workplace from carcinogenic hazardous substances was discussed. There was lively interest from the online auditorium, which was able to pose questions to the speakers using the chat function. A highlight of the first day was the panel discussion with representatives of the German and European authorities as well as the social partners, who looked at ongoing activities and initiatives for the prevention of occupational cancers, e.g. the Roadmap on Carcinogens, from their point of view. As a practical tool, GDA developed the Hazardous Substances Check for self-assessment of activities involving carcinogenic substances, which was presented at the event.
The second day of the event focused on the implementation of the requirements and findings for national occupational safety and health and occupational medicine. As an introduction, the evaluation and classification criteria as a basis for carcinogenic substances were recapitulated. The significance for occupational health and safety was clearly illustrated using the example of asbestos. Equally impressive were the requirements and practical hurdles shown using the example of dealing with the requirement for a closed system. Contributions on exposure measurement of carcinogenic substances from the air or by means of biomonitoring pointed out the limits and possibilities of these methods and completed the event.
More information can be found here: https://www.dialogbasis.de/dialoge/konferenzen/ivss-krebserzeugende-stoffe-risiken-und-praevention.html