G3: Forensic Hygiene: Your Work Matters Longer Than You Think
Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers
Harrowsmith, ON
CAN
Tue, 6/2: 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM CDT
Education Sessions
Education Sessions
Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Convention Center
Room: 291
CM Credit Hours: 1
Description
Occupational cancers are not always recognized. There is limited public awareness of many occupational carcinogens beyond a few high-profile agents. The latency between exposure and diagnosis, with onset of symptoms years of even decades after exposure has ended. As a result, the impact of past exposures is not always recognized.
In Ontario, Canada, approximately 4% of new cancer diagnoses are occupationally related, but only a fraction of workers and retirees put in claims to the singular workers' compensation agency in Ontario. Of those who put in a claim, less than half are accepted by the workers' compensation agency. One mandate of the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW), a not-for-profit agency, is to review denied claims in Ontario upon request.
Industrial hygienists at OHCOW quantify workers' historical occupational exposures, then review current evidence to evaluate if their historical exposures could have contributed to their cancer. The two presenters of this session will review the current best practices for estimating historical occupational exposures. Finally, the participants will work through two anonymized cases: one worker in the coke oven industry and one worker with high solvent exposure. This session will review the challenges of using historical data, the importance of selecting appropriate data for comparison, and the need to review current evidence-based occupational exposure limits.
In Ontario, Canada, approximately 4% of new cancer diagnoses are occupationally related, but only a fraction of workers and retirees put in claims to the singular workers' compensation agency in Ontario. Of those who put in a claim, less than half are accepted by the workers' compensation agency. One mandate of the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW), a not-for-profit agency, is to review denied claims in Ontario upon request.
Industrial hygienists at OHCOW quantify workers' historical occupational exposures, then review current evidence to evaluate if their historical exposures could have contributed to their cancer. The two presenters of this session will review the current best practices for estimating historical occupational exposures. Finally, the participants will work through two anonymized cases: one worker in the coke oven industry and one worker with high solvent exposure. This session will review the challenges of using historical data, the importance of selecting appropriate data for comparison, and the need to review current evidence-based occupational exposure limits.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion, the participant will be able to:
• Describe a retrospective exposure assessment.
• Recognize sources of occupational exposures, such as peer-reviewed literature, white papers, and employer in-house industrial hygiene data.
• Critically evaluate the different sources of historical occupational exposures.
• Assess historical exposures of a worker.
• Describe the complex multi-factorial nature of carcinogenesis arising from multiple factors/exposures.
• Describe a retrospective exposure assessment.
• Recognize sources of occupational exposures, such as peer-reviewed literature, white papers, and employer in-house industrial hygiene data.
• Critically evaluate the different sources of historical occupational exposures.
• Assess historical exposures of a worker.
• Describe the complex multi-factorial nature of carcinogenesis arising from multiple factors/exposures.
Content Level
Intermediate
Core Competencies
Biostatistics and Epidemiology
Exposure Assessment
Toxicology / Human Disease
Keywords
Exposure Assessment
Occupational epidemiology
Regulatory compliance
Risk assessment and management
Session Availability
In-person
OnDemand
Virtual
Targeted Audience
Professional
Transfer of Knowledge
Case Studies
Live Polling