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Dutch Expert Committee on Occupational Safety (DECOS)

The Dutch Expert Committee on Occupational Safety (DECOS) focuses on health risks. Its work includes assessing substances to which employees are exposed at their respective workplaces in terms of the substances’ toxic properties and effects on health. Such work can lead to a recommended value for professional exposure based on health expertise or a proposal for the assigning of hazard categories to carcinogenic substances or substances that are toxic to reproduction.

The advisory reports of this Committee are drawn up in accordance with its own working method in order to arrive at scientifically sound and useful advice from a policy point of view.

The Committee has two subcommittees: the Subcommittee on the Classification of Carcinogenic Substances and the Subcommittee on the Classification of Substances Toxic to Reproduction.

This activity is a permanent part of the Healthy working conditions focus area.

The membership of the committee may differ from one advice to another. Because a permanent committee addresses more than one topic, potential conflicts of interests of committee members will be re-evaluated at the start of each advisory process. The composition of the Committee by advice can be found on the last page of the advisory report.

By request of the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment, the Health Council will develop a scientific assessment framework for the derivation of binding Occupational Biomonitoring Levels (OBL). For this purpose the council formed the temporary Committee Framework for binding Occupational Biomonitoring Levels on 22 March 2023.

Members

  • Prof. F.G.M. Russel, Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Radboud University, Nijmegen, chair
  • Dr. H. Bouwmeester, Associate Professor of Toxicology, Wageningen University and Research Centre
  • Dr. W. Fransman, Senior Scientist, TNO, Zeist
  • Prof. I.A. Kreis, Epidemiologist, Royal College of Surgeans of England
  • Dr. E.D. Kroese, Toxicologist, TNO, Zeist
  • Dr. A.L. Menke, Toxicological Pathologist, TNO Leiden Metabolic Health Research
  • Dr. S. Peters, Researcher, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS), Utrecht
  • Dr. M. Rooseboom, Senior Toxicologist, Shell Health, Shell International B.V.
  • Dr. G.B.G.J. van Rooy, Occupational medicine specialist, Arbo Unie Expert Centre for Chemical Risk Management and Radboudumc Outpatient Clinic for Occupational Clinical Toxicology, Nijmegen
  • Prof. L.A. Smit, Professor One Health and Environmental Epidemiology, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht

Observers:

  • Dr. R. Renirie, Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, The Hague
  • D. Theodori MSc, Social and Economic Council, The Hague

Scientific Secretaries:

  • Dr. D. Boers, Health Council, The Hague
  • Dr. R.H. Mennen, Health Council, The Hague
  • J.P. Schimming, Health Council, The Hague
  • L. Souhoka, Health Council, The Hague
  • Dr. S.R. Vink, Health Council, The Hague