Biological hazards

Biological hazards in the workplace have been a topic of study, discussion and publications for many centuries. Notable early works include Bernado Ramzinni's 18th-century treatise on occupational diseases, De Morbis Artificum Diatriba; John Tyndall's (1888) Essays Oil the Floating-Matter of the Air: In Relation to Putrefaction and Infection; and Dangerous Trades (Oliver 1902). In our own time, outbreaks of SARS and avian flu, anthrax mail attacks, post-Hurricane Katrina mould investigations and other events involving biological hazards have led to an increased awareness of such hazards among occupational hygienists (Esswein etal. 2004; Halpin 2005; Schwab eral. 2007; Thrasher & Crawley 2009). However, there are still many areas in which our knowledge of biological hazards is limited, and there is still research to be done. In particular, complications in the relating of exposure levels to recognisable health effects, and limited knowledge on exposure-response pathways, inhibit the development of exposure standards for many biological hazards. Assessment of biological hazards is a challenging area of occupational hygiene, and this chapter presents an introductory overview of the subject.