Specific medical surveillance of workers exposed to harmful airborne substances

• Pages: 17-20

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4. Specific medical surveillance of workers exposed to harmful

airborne substances

4.1. Medical surveillance1

4.1.1. The purpose of medical surveillance is the prevention of occupational

diseases and their early detection and to contribute towards improving the working

environment.

4.1.2. Medical surveillance includes specific medical examinations, biological

monitoring and epidemiological surveillance.

4.2. Medical examinations

4.2.1. Any worker who may be exposed to hazards caused by contamination of

the working environment should be informed of the health hazards to which he could be

exposed by his work and the precautions to be taken. Where appropriate, he should be

medically examined before he is engaged:

(a) to see whether he is medically fit for the job under consideration;

(b) to determine the jobs to which he should not be assigned from a medical point of

view, and those which suit him best; and

(c) to establish for each worker a biological and health reference baseline.

4.2.2. The pre-employment medical examination should consist of a general

clinical examination backed up, if necessary, by other more specific tests according to

the occupational hazards involved.

4.2.3. This type of medical examination should be carried out each time that a

change of job may involve a change in the nature of the hazard to which the worker is

exposed.

4.2.4. Any worker exposed to serious occupational hazards or belonging to a

special category (young persons, women of childbearing age, pregnant women, nursing

mothers, handicapped persons, older workers) and exposed to hazards caused by

contamination of the working environment should undergo periodic specific medical

examinations to check whether he or she is still fit for work, to detect the earliest signs

of possible injury to health as a result of his exposure, and to provide him or her with

appropriate advice on hygiene and medical matters.

1 Medical surveillance relates to effects—often delayed—and not to causes. It may provide valuable

information on the application of technical prevention measures and the validity of exposure limits.

However, this calls for the closest collaboration between occupational health officers and real support

from employers and workers.