Besides reinforcing the findings from personal monitoring, medical monitoring serves several useful purposes in risk assessment and management in industry. A disease still not evident from symptoms may be detected if proper examination is carried out at regular intervals. The exact nature and frequency of medical monitoring will be determined by such factors as the hazards in specific occupations, company and statutory requirements. Some of the specific tests important for assessing exposure to chemicals include lung function testing , urine and blood level of hazardous materials or their metabolites, level of contaminants or metabolites in the exhaled air, and other clinical diagnostic tests used routinely by doctors . Exposure limits To interpret the results of monitoring, there must be some kind of reference to compare with.
Many countries have such references in their laws, called exposure limits .
In many cases an action level is also given. It is lower than the exposure limit and serves as a warning that some kind of action should be taken before the hazard can touch the actual exposure limit. Biological limits for the allowable levels of harmful substances in blood, urine or other body parts have also been specified for certain chemicals. These limits are very helpful in deciding if a particular chemical is a hazard to the health and safety of the exposed persons. Name some of the exposure limits for chemicals used in your country.