Occupational Hazard Mapping

The primary purpose of occupational exposure assessment is to identify and prevent workplace conditions likely to cause adverse health outcomes. One of my research goals is to evaluate several statistical approaches for the analysis of workplace exposure data collected with direct-reading instruments.

A strong regulatory framework can reduce the national and global burden of occupational disease, however, regulatory agencies have limited resources to evaluate existing and emerging hazards in the workplace. This lag in regulation highlights the need for improved techniques for intervention and hazard control to maximize resources for protecting worker health. Direct-reading instruments have the potential to improve the exposure assessment method by enabling the development of concentration maps. Concentration maps are contour plots of hazard concentration over space. Concentration maps have the potential to be powerful because they are easily comprehensible for managers, exposed employees, and industrial hygienists to locate areas of concern.