Improving Occupational Exposure Assessment [ 2005 - 2007 ]

Research Grant

Researchers: Prof Lin Fritschi (Principal investigator) ,  A/Pr Amitava Datta ,  Dr Geza Benke

Brief description Thousands of chemicals are used in Australian workplaces. For many of these chemicals it is not known if they are harmful to people who work with them. Unless we can measure how much of a chemical a worker has been exposed to, we cannot determine if the chemical is harmful. While we can test what chemicals a worker is currently exposed to, it is more difficult to estimate how much chemical exposure they have had in the past. This project aims to improve the ways we estimate past chemical exposure. We will build on existing best-practice methods to improve occupational exposure assessment. New computer technology will be used to develop an intelligent evolving database that can be used when asking people about jobs they have had in the past. Experts can examine the answers to the questions to decide whether the worker was exposed to particular chemicals. New methods of processing information, called artificial neural networks, will be used to automate some of these decisions.

Funding Amount $AUD 383,999.72

Funding Scheme NHMRC Project Grants

Notes Standard Project Grant