Work

Ensuring coherence in occupational biomonitoring: a call for alignment and collaboration

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This commentary addresses a critical and timely issue, namely the continued exclusion of certified occupational hygienists from conducting exposure assessments using the biomonitoring approach, as reflected in the recent EU-OSHA 2025 guidance. Current EU regulations frame biomonitoring within medical surveillance. This regulatory structure limits the use of biomonitoring as a preventive tool and sidelines professionals who are essential to exposure assessment and workplace safety. We are a multidisciplinary team comprising certified occupational hygienists and occupational medical doctors. We believe that the EU OSHA guidance represents a missed opportunity for collaboration. We hope this commentary will reach members of the EU regulatory bodies encouraging them to reconsider the current framing and promote a more integrated approach. By clarifying roles and fostering cooperation between occupational hygienists and physicians, we can ensure that biomonitoring fulfills its full potential in protecting worker health.

Source: Environment International

DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2025.110006