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A Feasibility Study for Developing an Occupational Exposure-Control Intelligence System in Great Britain (using Respirable Crystalline Silica as the Working Example)

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posted on 2024-07-26, 14:40 authored by Ioannis BasinasIoannis Basinas, Julia Rozanova, André Freitas, Martie Van tongerenMartie Van tongeren, Damien McelvennyDamien Mcelvenny

The overall aim of this project was to assess the feasibility of developing an occupational exposure control intelligence system (OccECIS) that could be used to provide data on leading indicators for occupational lung diseases. Were such a system to be developed, HSE and its stakeholders (and others with an interest) could use this system to prioritise hazards, sectors and occupations of concern, in order to inform future interventions to reduce exposures. The system could also be developed to monitor the effectiveness of such interventions over time and so limiting the future burden of occupational lung diseases. Data for respirable crystalline silica (RCS) was used as the working example (as this is a recognised priority for HSE) to illustrate what inputs and outputs from such a system might look like.

We believe that it is feasible to develop a system that can be used to monitor the effectiveness of any policy intervention. The quality of input data will largely determine the quality of the outputs of the system. In addition, it is important that such a system is not just a repository for historical data, but that it is continuously updated with new data collected by various stakeholders. Overall, we believe that it is feasible and important to develop an occupational exposure-control intelligence system in order to:

i) derive estimates of exposure intensity and prevalence, as well as data on the use of control measures, which can subsequently be used by HSE and other stakeholders;

ii) identify and prioritise hazards and sectors and occupations of concern; and

iii) inform interventions to reduce the future burden of work-related respiratory diseases.

The biggest barrier to establishing the system will be the incentivisation of those holding relevant data to contribute to this proposed national resource. A data curator role will need to be established to oversee the process of adding data to the system, including quality control. We believe that developing a prototype system with RCS as the working example is the most appropriate initial task.

Funding

Funded by the Health and Safety Executive

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