Application of EASC-IHSTAT Software to Analyze Occupational Disease-Related Surveillance Data

[Objective]To introduce a method assisting occupational exposure data processing and decision making using EASC-IHSTAT software.[Methods]EASC-IHSTAT software was used to estimate data distribution and percentage of samples exceeding occupational exposure limits(OELs) for a group of time-weighted welding fume concentrations data collected in a workshop.Applying the U.S.Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s boundary values of 5%,a qualitative judgment on compliance to the national standards of welding fumes would be made for the selected workplace.[Results]All concentrations of welding fumes sampled in the workplace were below OELs,but 10.6% of the samples were above OELs according to EASC-IHSTAT software.[Conclusion]In regard of determining qualification of occupational exposures in compliance with relevant national standards,the protocol adopted by EASC-IHSTAT software is more rigorous than the current method in China.