A Source of Exposure Data for Occupational Epidemiology Studies

Abstract Perhaps the largest data set of occupational air measurements, collected and maintained by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), is described as a source of information for exposure assessments in occupational epidemiologic studies. This information includes employers' names and addresses, number of employees, Standard Industrial Classification codes, job titles of employees monitored, the exposures monitored, and the results of the measurements. Over 200,000 measurements were taken between 1979 and 1987 in a wide variety of industries. Job titles are not uniformly coded and require some manipulation to make them useful. Examples of these data are presented in a form which could be of value to the investigator evaluating exposures in an occupational epidemiologic study. The strengths and limitations of these data for such exposure assessments are described.