Essential BAT Value Documentations : From the MAK-Collection for Occupational Health and Safety

For more than 20 of the most important occupational toxicants, the documentations for the established BAT values (Biological Exposure Values) and EKA values (Exposure Equivalents for Carcinogenic Substances) are provided. These include an authoritative review of the available toxicological studies and data. For every substance, metabolism and pharmacokinetics, critical toxicity, exposure and effects, suitable indicators of internal exposure, the evaluation of the BAT value and the correct interpretation of data are described. Basic physico-chemical data are provided as well. The documentations are thus not only essential for the application of BAT and EKA values but provide a concise overview of biological monitoring for each substance. The documentations are authoritative, because they were compiled by the Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area. The Commission is internationally acknowledged for its neutrality and is working strictly according to transparent, scientific criteria. BAT Values set the standards for legal regulations in many countries of the world, e. g. they are the basis for at least 30 % of the threshold limits valid in the European Union.

Hans Drexler is head of the working group "Setting of Threshold Limit Values in Biological Materials" of the Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area and Director of the Institute and Outpatient Clinic of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (Germany). He is board member of the International Society of Environmental Medicine (ISEM) and Editor-in-chief of the International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health.

Helmut Greim is Head of the DFG-Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area and also President of the Advisory Committee on Existing Chemicals of Environmental Relevance of the German Chemical Society. Both bodies are intimately involved in European regulatory procedures concerning hazardous chemicals.