History

The Occupational Medicine Department was established in 1990 on the initiative of the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. Today, the department is part of the Clinic for Pulmonary and Occupational Medicine at St. Olav's Hospital.

Research has been an integral part of the work at the Occupational Medicine Department since its beginning. The overarching goal of our research has been to be contributing research-based expertise regionally to the society and enterprises and thereby preventing health damage resulting from workplace exposures. The core activities of the department and research group have focused on the fields of occupational medicine and occupational hygiene. As of Januar 2024, the department comprises approximately 14 full-time equivalents, with around 4 full-time equivalents dedicated to research and teaching. Of these, approximately 0.5 full-time equivalent is funded through NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology).

In addition to larger research and assessment projects, numerous smaller surveys have been conducted on behalf of businesses in the region.

1990 - 1999

In the 1990s, much of the research activity was related to several significant projects related to cancer in coal and smelting industries, agricultural health, solvent injuries, asthma, and allergies among surface treatment workers in shipyards, as well as indoor air quality and health in nursing homes.

2000 - 2009

In the early 2000s, we initiated a large project focusing on exposure and respiratory diseases among chefs, as well as a major assessment related to benzene exposure in university laboratories at Rosenborg.

2010 - 2019

During this period, much of the activity was related to various research and assessment projects concerning accidents in agriculture, mercury exposure among dental assistants, exposure in the smelting industry, and solvent exposure in the workshop at Marienborg. Since 2018, our primary focus has been on asthma and allergies in salmon processing plants.

2020 -

In addition to our work on asthma and allergies in salmon processing plants, we are involved in follow-up research on the implementation of the Health Platform (STUNTH).

The research group's activities are guided by the department's Research Committee and are under the supervision of the department's leadership.

Doctoral degrees originating from/affiliated with the department:

Name	Year	Tittle
Svendsen, Kristin von Hirsh	1997	Characterization of exposure to oil mist and effects on the lungs and the skin of marine engineers
Romundstad, Pål Richard	2000	Cancer risk among workers in the Norwegian aluminium industry
Sjaastad, Ann Kristin	2010	Exposure to cooking fumes during the pan frying of beefsteak under domestic and occupational conditions
Føreland, Solveig	2012	Improved retrospective exposure assessment of dust and selected dust constituents in the Norwegian silicon carbide industry from 1913 to 2005.
Svedal, Sindre Rabben	2018	Cooks, work environment and health : experimental studies of exposure to cooking fumes, and epidemiological investigations in a cohort
Weggeberg, Hanne	2018	Element content and bioaccessibility assessment of different size fractions of airborne particulate matter : ambient exposure (Trondheim, Norway) and occupational exposure (rehabilitation of the Freifjord tunnel, Norway)