職業暴露資料庫建置芻議

Occupational Exposure Assessment Database－－Review and Comments

職業場所暴露因子及暴露風險的多樣性漸趨增加，為管理更複雜的職業暴露風險，職業衛生活動不能只守住符合法令要求的作業環境測定，而要擴大為全面性暴露評估。全面性暴露評估強調能掌握所有工作者每天工作的暴露實態，即估計一族群暴露的強度以及其隨著時間的變化。這種全面性暴露評估整合工作者、工作場所、暴露物、以及影響暴露的修飾因子等特性資料，需要長時間累積完整且正確的暴露資料，才能做出合理的判斷，而非單一作業環境測量結果所能做到。現今的電腦資料庫系統可提供長期大量資料的儲存、處理及安全保護功能，使應付數量龐大且複雜的職業暴露資訊更形容易。歐美幾個先進國家已利用電腦之便，建立職業暴露資料庫，本文回顧這些資料庫，並且討論建立國家層級職業暴露資料庫應考量的架構、資料要項及系統功能等。

The variety of risks associated with occupational exposure to multiple agents is increasing. To manage the more complex risks, occupational hygiene practice has shifted from traditional compliance monitoring, which focuses on determining whether exposures are above or below the established limits, to comprehensive exposure assessment. Comprehensive exposure assessment emphasizes characterization of all exposures for all workers on all days, and estimates exposure intensity and how it varies over time for an exposure group. This kind of exposure assessment integrates information about workers, workplaces, agents they work with, and modified factors to exposure. A plausible conclusion about an individual or a group exposure profile relies on a set of solid historical data, not a single exposure monitoring. Modern computer database systems that are capable of storing, managing and safeguarding tremendous datasets for a long period of time make it easier to deal with a great amount of complicated occupational exposure data. With computers, nationwide occupational exposure databanks have been established and used for exposure assessment in Europe and America. Based on a review of the information about those databanks, this article discusses the infrastructure, required data elements and computer systems needed for the construction of a nationwide database system for occupational exposure in this country.