New occupational diseases. Essentials for every physician

Because of the obligation to report notifiable diseases knowledge of the Ordinance on Occupational Diseases (OOD) and the list of occupational diseases is essential for every practicing physician. The new OOD took effect on 1 Dec. 1997 and was upgraded in 2002 and in 2009 with five new occupational diseases explained in this article: (1) diseases of the blood, the hematopoietic and lymphatic systems caused by benzene (No. 1318 of the annex of OOD), (2) osteoarthritis of the knee due to occupational kneeling or comparable occupational load with a cumulative exposure of at least 13,000 h and a minimum exposure time of 1 h/shift (No. 2112 of the annex of OOD), (3) lung cancer caused by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as evidenced by exposure to a cumulative dose of at least 100 benzo[a] pyrene years [(mu g/m(3)) x years) (No. 4113 of the annex of OOD), (4) lung cancer caused by the interaction of asbestos dust and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as evidenced by exposure to a cumulative dose with a minimum probability of causation of 50% according to annex No. 2 (No. 4114 of the annex of OOD) and (5) pulmonary fibrosis caused by extreme long-term exposure to welding fumes and gases (siderofibrosis) (No. 4115 of the annex of OOD).