For noncancer effects, the degree of human interindividual variability plays a central role in determining the risk that can be expected at low exposures. This discussion reviews available data on observations of interindividual variability in (a) breathing rates, based on observations in British coal miners; (b) systemic pharmacokinetic parameters, based on studies of a number of drugs; (c) susceptibility to neurological effects from fetal exposure to methyl mercury, based on observations of the incidence of effects in relation to hair mercury levels; and (d) chronic lung function changes in relation to long-term exposure to cigarette smoke. The quantitative ranges of predictions that follow from uncertainties in estimates of interindividual variability in susceptibility are illustrated.

Difficulties surrounding the interpretation of the HLA-DPB1-Glu69 marker, lack of assurance regarding the protection of worker confidentiality, and the potential lowering of social barriers to the implementation of mandatory worker screening combine to make testing beryllium workers inappropriate at this time.

Most epidemiological studies of high temperature effects on mortality have focused on urban settings, while heat-related health risks in rural areas remain underexplored. To date there has been no meta-analysis of epidemiologic literature concerning heat-related mortality in rural settings. This study aims to systematically review the current literature for assessing heat-related mortality risk among rural populations. We conducted a comprehensive literature search using PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar to identify articles published up to April 2018. Key selection criteria included study location, health endpoints, and study design. Fourteen studies conducted in rural areas in seven countries on four continents met the selection criteria, and eleven were included in the meta-analysis. Using the random effects model, the pooled estimates of relative risks (RRs) for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality were 1.030 (95% CI: 1.013, 1.048) and 1.111 (95% CI: 1.045, 1.181) per 1 °C increase in daily mean temperature, respectively. We found excess risks in rural settings not to be smaller than risks in urban settings. Our results suggest that rural populations, like urban populations, are also vulnerable to heat-related mortality. Further evaluation of heat-related mortality among rural populations is warranted to develop public health interventions in rural communities.

The Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (EEOICPA; "ee-okpah") is the first new federal entitlement program for American workers since the Black Lung Benefits Reform Act of 1977("Subchapter XVI," 2002 "The Floyd D. Spence," 2000). EEOICPA's passage marked the end of a dark chapter in occupational health in America-the systematic denial of occupational illness compensation claims among workers in the factories and laboratories of the atomic bomb complex during the Cold War era. Labor health advocates, together with workers and their survivors, have long called for the federal government to stop encouraging and assisting contractors in contesting legitimate occupational disease claims, and to replace policies of "deny and defend" (Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act, 2003) with recognition and recompense for individuals who earn their livelihoods in government-owned, contractor-operated weapons production plants where large quantities of

Interprofessional service learning about migrant occupational health issues may have its greatest impact as participating students enter the regional workforce, caring for patients employed in slow-to-change agricultural operations.