Workers are exposed to ultrafine particles (UFP) in a number of occupations. In order to summarize the current knowledge regarding occupational exposure to UFP (excluding engineered nanoparticles), we gathered information on UFP concentrations from published research articles. The aim of our study was to create a basis for future epidemiological studies that treat UFP as an exposure factor. The literature search found 72 publications regarding UFP measurements in work environments. These articles covered 314 measurement results and tabled concentrations. Mean concentrations were compared to typical urban UFP concentration level, which was considered non-occupational background concentration. Mean concentrations higher than the typical urban UFP concentration were reported in 240 workplace measurements. The results showed that workers' exposure to UFP may be significantly higher than their non-occupational exposure to background concentration alone. Mean concentrations of over 100 times the typical urban UFP concentration were reported in welding and metal industry. However, according to the results of the review, measurements of the UFP in work environments are, to date, too limited and reported too heterogeneous to allow us to draw general conclusions about workers' exposure. Harmonization of measurement strategies is essential if we are to generate more reliable and comparable data in the future.

This paper reviews the use of the Finnish Information System on Occupational Exposure (Finnish job-exposure matrix, FINJEM) in different applications in Finland and other countries. We describe and discuss studies on FINJEM and studies utilizing FINJEM in regard to the validity of exposure estimates, occupational epidemiology, hazard surveillance and prevention, the assessment of health risks and the burden of disease, the assessment of exposure trends and future hazards, and the construction of job-exposure matrices (JEMs) in countries other than Finland. FINJEM can be used as an exposure assessment tool in occupational epidemiology, particularly in large register-based studies. It also provides information for hazard surveillance at the national level. It is able to identify occupations with high average exposures to chemical agents and can therefore serve the priority setting of prevention. However, it has only limited use at the workplace level due to the variability of exposure between workplaces. The national estimates of exposure and their temporal trends may contribute to the assessment of both the recent and future burden of work-related health outcomes. FINJEM has also proved to be useful in the construction of other national JEMs, for example in the Nordic Occupational Cancer study in the Nordic countries. FINJEM is a quantitative JEM, which can serve many purposes and its comprehensive documentation also makes it potentially useful in countries other than Finland.

Inhalation exposure to most chemical agents has decreased in Finland since 1970. High exposures and the average level of exposure started to decrease already in the 1950s. The declining incidence of occupational skin diseases suggests that dermal exposure has also diminished. However, high exposures still exist and cause a substantial amount of occupational diseases and symptoms. Chemical exposures and the related disease burden are expected to continue decreasing in the future. These results cannot be generalized to other countries, particularly if the development phase of technology and the occupational structure of the labor force differ significantly from those in Finland.

Further research on paternal chromium exposure is warranted. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 25(10); 1426-34. ©2016 AACR.

This is the largest study on prenatal exposure to pesticides and TGCT risk, overall providing no evidence of an association. Limitations to assess individual exposure in registry-based studies might have contributed to the null result.