Availability of a New Job-Exposure Matrix (CANJEM) for Epidemiologic and Occupational Medicine Purposes

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to introduce the Canadian job-exposure matrix (CANJEM). METHODS: Four large case-control studies of cancer were conducted in Montreal, focused on assessing occupational exposures by means of detailed interviews followed by expert assessment of possible occupational exposures. Thirty-one thousand six hundred seventy-three jobs were assessed using a checklist of 258 agents (listed with prevalences at http://expostats.ca/chems). This large exposure database was configured as a JEM. RESULTS: CANJEM is available in four occupational classification systems. It provides estimates of probability of exposure among workers with a given occupation, and for those exposed, various metrics of exposure. CANJEM can be accessed online (www.canjem.ca) or in a batch version. CONCLUSION: CANJEM is a large source of retrospective exposure information, covering most occupations and many agents. CANJEM can be used to support exposure assessment efforts in epidemiology and occupational health.