Biomarkers in the Workplace. Catherine Musham, L. Trettin, and R. Jablonski, Environmental Hazards Assessment Program, Medical University of South Carolina, 156 Rutledge Ave., Charleston SC, 29403
Ethical implications of advances in biomarker identification have been discussed by scholars and environmental researchers, but not by the professionals and workers who may make and be affected by decisions about their applications in industrial settings. Six professionally homogeneous focus groups, comprised of 1) company health professionals, 2) third-party payers, 3) attorneys, 4) human resource managers, 5) non-unionized workers, and 6) unionized workers, participated in focus groups in Greenville, SC. A fictitious newspaper article about the use of biomarker-based monitoring at a chemical plant was used to stimulate discussion on the legal, social and ethical ramifications of this technology. Although biological monitoring was previously unknown to many participants, occupational groups were relatively consistent in the issues they raised about its use in the workplace. In all groups, employee discrimination emerged as a major concern. The general consensus was that use of this technology to identify early environmentally caused genetic damage offers significant preventive benefits but must be stringently regulated to protect worker rights.