A European consensus criteria document for diagnosing Work-Related Upper Extremity Musculoskeletal Disorders (WRUEMSDs) was developed with the main purpose being prevention. The project was guided by a selection of European experts on the field of upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders and work factors and based on a systematic literature search. The criteria were discussed in a consensus workshop attended by participants of 14 European countries.

In this report we present the findings from a nanotoxicology workshop held 6–7 April 2006 at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC. Over 2 days, 26 scientists from government, academia, industry, and nonprofit organizations addressed two specific questions: what information is needed to understand the human health impact of engineered nanoparticles and how is this information best obtained? To assess hazards of nanoparticles in the near-term, most participants noted the need to use existing in vivo toxicologic tests because of their greater familiarity and interpretability. For all types of toxicology tests, the best measures of nanoparticle dose need to be determined. Most participants agreed that a standard set of nanoparticles should be validated by laboratories worldwide and made available for benchmarking tests of other newly created nanoparticles. The group concluded that a battery of tests should be developed to uncover particularly hazardous properties. Given the large number of diverse materials, most participants favored a tiered approach. Over the long term, research aimed at developing a mechanistic understanding of the numerous characteristics that influence nanoparticle toxicity was deemed essential. Predicting the potential toxicity of emerging nanoparticles will require hypothesis-driven research that elucidates how physicochemical parameters influence toxic effects on biological systems. Research needs should be determined in the context of the current availability of testing methods for nanoscale particles. Finally, the group identified general policy and strategic opportunities to accelerate the development and implementation of testing protocols and ensure that the information generated is translated effectively for all stakeholders.

The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of using Massachusetts workers' compensation data for passive surveillance of occupational carpal tunnel syndrome (OCTS). Workers' compensation claims for OCTS (n = 358) and for possible cases of OCTS (n = 1,121) active during the first 6 months of 1989 were identified. The availability and distribution of demographic and employment descriptors were assessed. Medical records on a sample of the claims were reviewed to validate the diagnosis of OCTS. Age, gender, and occupation were available for less than 47% of the reported cases of OCTS. The majority (88%) of cases on whom medical record review was performed had a physician's diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), and most of this group had confirmatory nerve conduction studies or electromyography. However, there were fundamental limitations to workers' compensation based disease surveillance in Massachusetts, including underascertainment of cases, potential ascertainment biases, delayed case reporting, limited access to specific diagnostic information, and incomplete and sometimes inaccurate information. These limitations are likely to be applicable in many, if not most, states and must be made clear in any analyses based on workers' compensation data.

As high-throughput technologies in genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics evolve, questions arise about their use in the assessment of occupational cancers. To address these questions, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and the American Chemistry Council sponsored a workshop 8-9 May 2002 in Washington, DC. The workshop brought together 80 international specialists whose objective was to identify the means for best exploiting new technologies to enhance methods for laboratory investigation, epidemiologic evaluation, risk assessment, and prevention of occupational cancer. The workshop focused on identifying and interpreting markers for early biologic effect and inherited modifiers of risk.

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