在欧盟各种职业环境中普遍存在六价铬（Cr(VI)）暴露，并与肺癌相关。2025年，职业暴露限值将改变为5μg/m3。目前的暴露限值较高，一般限值为10μg/m3，焊接行业为25μg/m3。我们旨在评估职业暴露于Cr(VI)导致肺癌的当前负担，并通过分析不同职业暴露限值来评估最近制定的欧盟法规的影响。数据来自文献、2019年全球疾病负担研究和欧洲统计局。我们结合暴露与效应关系和暴露数据估算了由职场暴露于Cr(VI)引起的癌症病例，并计算了不同职业暴露限值情境下的相关DALYs和健康成本。按照当前的欧盟法规，估计2019年有253例（95%UI 250.96-255.71）肺癌是由Cr(VI)引起的，导致4684 DALYs（95%UI 4683.57-4704.08）。如果焊接业采用10μg/m3，预计会下降43例和797 DALYs。预测采用5μg/m3的限制将导致减少148例和2746 DALYs。当前的成本估计为每年1247万欧元（95%UI 10.19-453.82），考虑到DALYs的成本为3997万欧元（95%UI 22.75-70.10）。在2025年实施的限制将在考虑DALYs时导致2335万欧元的降低，引入限制值的收益会在许多年之后才出现。采用1μg/m3的限制将将成本降低到104万欧元（95%UI 0.85-37.67），DALYs降低到333万欧元（95%UI 1.89-5.84）。评估不同Cr(VI)职业暴露限值的情境有助于了解欧盟规制措施的影响。这些发现强调了为保护工人健康和避免相关成本采取更严格的暴露限值的必要性。版权所有©2023年Elsevier Inc.发布。

Exposure to hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] occurs widely in occupational settings across the EU and is associated with lung cancer. In 2025, the occupational exposure limit is set to change to 5 μg/m3. Current exposure limits are higher, with 10 μg/m3 as a general limit and 25 μg/m3 for the welding industry. We aimed to assess the current burden of lung cancer caused by occupational exposure to Cr(VI) and to evaluate the impact of the recently established EU regulation by analysing different occupational exposure limits.Data were extracted from the literature, the Global Burden of Disease 2019) study, and Eurostat. We estimated the cases of cancer attributable to workplace exposure to Cr(VI) by combining exposure-effect relationships with exposure data, and calculated related DALYs and health costs in scenarios with different occupational exposure limits.With current EU regulations, 253 cases (95%UI 250.96-255.71) of lung cancer were estimated to be caused by Cr(VI) in 2019, resulting in 4684 DALYs (95%UI 4683.57-4704.08). In case the welding industry adopted 10 μg/m3, a decrease of 43 cases and 797 DALYs from current values is expected. The predicted application of a 5 μg/m3 limit would cause a decrease of 148 cases and 2746 DALYs. Current costs are estimated to amount to 12.47 million euros/year (95%UI 10.19-453.82), corresponding to 39.97 million euros (95%UI 22.75-70.10) when considering costs per DALY. The limits implemented in 2025 would lead to a decrease of 23.35 million euros when considering DALYs, with benefits of introducing a limit value occurring after many decades. Adopting a 1 μg/m3 limit would lower costs to 1.04 million euros (95%UI 0.85-37.67) and to 3.33 million euros for DALYs (95%UI 1.89-5.84).Assessing different scenarios with different Cr(VI) occupational exposure limits allowed to understand the impact of EU regulatory actions. These findings make a strong case for adapting even stricter exposure limits to protect workers' health and avoid associated costs.Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Inc.