Research project ST/07 (Research action ST)
Theme.
Evaluation and management of the toxicological risks associated with the manipulation of chemical products at companies in the Seveso plan and/or waste-processing firms.
Objectives.
Objectives of the network:
Industrial physicians and those responsible for the safety of workers exposed to numerous chemical products in the waste-processing industry or in Seveso-type plants, have to contend with highly complex problems with regard to which toxicological data is both incomplete (or non-existent) and very poorly structured.
The objective of the study is to develop and install a server centre equipped with a physicochemical and toxicological database and risk-evaluation software. This server centre, constantly updated and based on the expertise of a multidisciplinary team of industrial physicians, hygienists, toxicologists and biochemists, will allow priority situations to be indicated more effectively, using tested concepts and validated data.
At the same time, new analytical methods will be made available to industrial physicians to enable them to gain maximum utility from procedures for the rapid tracing and prevention of certain pathologies.
The project also has an important educational, informational and training aspect for industrial physicians and those responsible for the management of toxicological risk.
ST/12/019:
Contribution of toxicological biochemistry to research into the effect of pollutants.
Objectives of the personal contribution:
- Development and validation of phenotyping and genotyping tests enabling the evaluation of the metabolic capacity of an individual with respect to xenobiotics. These elements will be one of the essential pieces of information for evaluating the risk associated with exposure to
pollutants;
- Development and validation of pollutant exposure tests: demonstration, identification and measurement of the adduction of biological
macromolecules;
- Use of biomarkers and in vitro tests, including cell culture, to study the direct and indirect toxic effects of pollutants, and mixtures of products
of diverse origin, of the kind handled by the waste-processing sector.
ST/12/020:
Setting up of a communication network with industry.
Objectives of the personal contribution:
- To establish contacts with local companies involved in chemicals or waste-processing;
- To cooperate with industrial physicians and safety managers working in the fields in question;
- To develop a questionnaire that will allow the most complete possible evaluation of the toxic risk to which the workers are exposed. Recording
of any previous toxic incidents or accidents and their impact on the health of the workers in consideration.
- To apply possible environmental measures if theoretical risk evaluation appears insufficient - environmental measures where the biomarkers of
certain exposed workers show anomalies;
- To use existing toxicological databases and to supplement these with the observations reported by members of the communication network.
Existing toxicological data and that reported by the members of the network will, of course, form the basic tools of the team producing the
risk evaluation software (Prof. J. DE GRAEVE ST/12/012);
- To progressively transform the communication network that will gather data in the preliminary stage into the server centre that will provide it in
the latter part of the study.
ST/12/021:
Evaluation and management of toxicological risk.
Objectives of the personal contribution:
- Identification of major toxicological risks associated with exposure to multiple chemical constituents (studies, procedures, questionnaires);
- Writing of software capable of evaluating toxic risk, taking account of available data and the situation in the field (concentrations, duration
and conditions);
- Checking the validity of the software by on-site measurements;
- Education and training of industrial physicians and paramedics in risk management.
ST/12/022
Telematics network for toxicological information:
Objectives of the personal contribution:
- To develop a telematics network between the different university and industrial partners engaged in the project;
- To develop a multimedia database on Industrial Toxicology;
- To establish links with other toxicological databases through the Internet;
- To develop a prototype server centre providing access to databases and to software for the management of risk situations.
Etude de l'effet biochimique des polluants: mise au point et validation de biomarqueurs: rapport final
Kremers, P. Bruxelles: SSTC, 1999 (SP0953)
[To download]
Development of a server centre for the management and protection of worker health - REGETOX 2000: executive summary
Kremers, P. Brussels: OSTC, 1999 (SP0954)
[To download]
REGETOX 2000