Working group of the Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area
This work group evaluates limit and assessment values for hazardous substances in biological materials (biological tolerance values (BAT values), biological guidance values (BLW), biological reference values (BAR), and exposure equivalents for carcinogenic substances (EKA)).
In addition, documentations which consider aspects of occupational medicine and toxicology are available in both German and English for biological tolerance values (BAT values), biological guidance values (BLW), biological reference values (BAR), and exposure equivalents for carcinogenic substances (EKA).
The MAK Collection for Occupational Health and Safety with all documentations and methods up to 2019 and from 2020 on.
The Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area of the German Research Foundation (MAK Commission) was founded in 1955 and – per their mandate [1] – enacted the formation of the working group “Establishment of limit values in biological materials” in 1979, which was assigned the task of evaluating limit and assessment values for hazardous substances in the workplace. Since 1981, biological tolerance values have been included in the List of MAK and BAT Values published by the German Research Foundation.
The “Assessment values in biological materials” working group meets twice a year to confer about the derivation of limit and assessment values in biological materials.
The “Assessment values in biological materials” working group evaluates limit and assessment values in biological materials for hazardous substances in the workplace:
biological tolerance values (BAT values),
biological guidance values (BLW),
biological reference values (BAR), and
exposure equivalents for carcinogenic substances (EKA),
to guarantee employee health and to enable the assessment of exposure and health effects from harmful substances.
The “Assessment values in biological materials” working group further composes framework papers in which important aspects of this field of study are presented and discussed; examples include the significance of creatinine concentrations in urine samples, enzyme induction in cases of simultaneous effects from foreign substances, etc.
The working group is composed of experts from both academia and medical practice who possess the necessary experience in the assessment of human-biomonitoring data and who are able to derive limit and assessment values for hazardous substances from studies. They serve as working-group members or guests/ad-hoc experts of the Senate Commission on a voluntary basis.
Meaningful collaboration in the Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area is codified in our codex, which is signed for confirmation by all experts of our working group.
In order to ensure the scientific independence of all participants, all members and guests of the Senate Commission are required to report conflicts of interests on any agenda items in advance of each working-group meeting. A corresponding declaration on dealing with conflicts of interest is completed and signed by every working-group member and guest before every meeting. Any existing conflicts of interest are openly presented at the start of the meeting, discussed, and recorded as part of the meeting minutes.
The focus area of the working group is the evaluation of limit and assessment values (BAT, EKA, BLW, BAR) for hazardous substances and their metabolites in biological materials. The selection of parameters is carried out in close cooperation with the “Biomonitoring” working group of the Senate Commission. Moreover, there is regular discussion with the “MAK Values and Classifications” working group.
In addition to collaboration with all working groups of the Commission, the working group maintains close contact with national and international organisations; examples include the Scientific Committee for Occupational Exposure Limits (SCOEL) of the EU, the Biological Exposure Indices Committee (BEI) of the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) in the USA, the Committee on Hazardous Substances (AGS) of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, and the “Humanbiomonitoring” Commission of the German Federal Environment Agency.
Changes and new additions to limit and assessment values in biological materials are published every year on July 1 in the List of MAK and BAT Values.
Moreover, there are documentations which consider aspects of occupational medicine and toxicology, in both German and English, for biological tolerance values (BAT values), biological guidance values (BLW), biological reference values (BAR), and exposure equivalents for carcinogenic substances (EKA). These documentations are published online in the MAK-Collection Online in both German and English.
The MAK Collection for Occupational Health and Safety mit allen Begründungen und Methoden bis 2019 und ab 2020
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