Authors' recommendations: At request of the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment, the Dutch expert Committee on Occupational Exposure Safety (DECOS), one of the permanent committees of experts of the Health Council, proposes health-based recommended occupational exposure limits for chemical substances in the air in the workplace. These recommendations serve as basis in setting legally binding occupational exposure limits by the minister. In this advisory report, the committee evaluates the consequences of exposure to fungal alpha-amylase, an enzyme from the fungus Aspergillus oryzae. Workers in bakeries and flour mills may be exposed to this enzyme. The committee's conclusions are based on scientific papers published before August 2014. The committee recommends a reference value of 0.9 ng enzyme/m3 for occupational exposure to fungal alpha-amylase, as an eight-hour time-weighted average concentration. At this concentration workers have an additional sensitisation risk for fungal alpha-amylase of 1 percent compared to the background risk in the general population.

Project Status: Completed

Year Published: 2014

URL for published report: http://www.gr.nl/sites/default/files/201425fungal_alpha-amylase.pdf

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Not Assigned

Country: Netherlands

Organisation Name: Health Council of the Netherlands Gezondheidsraad

Contact Address: Postbus 16052, 2500 BB Den Haag, The Netherlands. Tel: +31 70 340 7520;Fax: +31 70 340 7523

Contact Name: info@gr.nl

Contact Email: info@gr.nl

Copyright: Health Council of the Netherlands