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Work and Research Programme 2022-2025

Safe-to-use chemicals and products

One essential basis for the protection of people (as workers and consumers) and the environment is to ensure that only safely designed chemicals and products are placed on the market. This can be done, for example, by constructing products suitably or manufacturing low-dust formulations of industrial chemicals, such as granulates ("safety-by-design"). The safe use of chemicals and products is supported by the specification of protective measures that guarantee they are handled safely and without adverse impacts on human health - above all in the commercial sector. Products and chemicals associated with unacceptable risks are to be excluded from the market by the instruments of market surveillance and chemicals regulation.

Research projects in this field of action

Chemical safety

The formulation of criteria for the safe, sustainable design of chemicals and materials, the promotion of substitution (SUBSPORTplus portal), and the further development of the REACH and CLP regulations are central topics for the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin, BAuA).

Both regulations are to be amended in the near future to take account of the changed parameters in place under the European Chemicals Strategy, and will thus generate an increased need for policy advice from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales, BMAS) and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, nukleare Sicherheit und Verbraucherschutz, BMUV). At the same time concepts for risk-based regulatory approaches, the harmonisation of derived limit values, the better availability of exposure and use-related information, and the introduction of new hazard classes will be particularly relevant to occupational safety and health (OSH).

Research projects

Project number Title
F 2366 Human exposure to biocidal products: Measurement of inhalation and dermal exposure during the application of biocide foams
F 2376 Mode of toxic action of nanocarbons
F 2379 Use of trichloroethylene in closed systems - Biomonitoring of operators and bystanders
F 2405 Evaluation of optical measurement devices for the determination of particulate hazardous substances at workplaces
F 2467 Modular Exposure Models for OSH Risk Assessment in Chemical Safety
F 2469 Monte Carlo simulations of image generating stray processes in SEM measurements of fibres
F 2476 Prerequisites and mechanisms of release of respirable fibrous carbon fiber fragments (CarboBreak)
F 2477 Implementation of risk governance: meeting the needs of nanotechnology
F 2480 Innovative Materials and New Production Processes: Safety in the Life Cycle and Industrial Value Creation
F 2484 Packaging, formulations and systems for exposure reduction to hazardous substances in the workplace
F 2485 Biomonitoring reference values for non-occupational background burden with metals and metalloids
F 2492 Modular Exposure Models for OSH Risk Assessment in Chemical Safety
F 2493 Modular Exposure Models for OSH Risk Assessment in Chemical Safety
F 2512 NanoHarmony - Towards harmonised test methods for nanomaterials - BAuA contribution
F 2528 Advanced High Aspect Ratio and Multicomponent Materials: towards comprehensive intelligent Testing and Safe by Design Strategies
F 2530 Contribution of BAuA to the EU-Project POLYRISK: Understanding exposure and toxicity of Micro- and Nano-Plastic contaminants in humans
F 2554 Occupational Model for Oral Route Exposure (OMORE)
F 2556 Development of a method for the preparation or enrichment of fibrous materials suitable for toxicological testing (PANTox)
F 2565 Advanced Characterisation Methodologies to assess and predict the Health and Environmental Risks of Advanced Materials
F 2567 Occupational Model for Oral Route Exposure (OMORE) – Project 2: Investigation of monitoring methods for oral exposure
F 2568 Improving risk assessment for chemical agents: Innovative provision of model calculations for exposure assessment
F2566 Design and implementation of a database on chemical-morphological characteristics of toxicologically relevant fibre aerosols

Safe products and work equipment

Safe products and work equipment are a critical prerequisite for successful, effective occupational safety and health. In view of the increasing diversity of products on sale, partly as a consequence of online trading, more tools will be required in future to identify dangerous products.

Software-supported procedures, AI procedures especially, will be suitable for the analysis of large quantities of data and information for this purpose in the medium-to-long term. The aims are to investigate appropriate AI procedures for the analysis of large volumes of poorly structured information about products on a pilot basis, and to trial prototype analytical tools for selected data sources and database systems.

Research projects

Project number Title
F 2395 Further development and modernisation of the teaching concept on product safety for university education (PROSUmEr)
F 2497 Safety-related risk assessment of a cyber-physical model system for industry 4.0 applications
F 2520 Development of a practice-oriented system of criteria and rules to optimise risk assessments

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