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Copyright of Occupational Medicine / Pracovní Lékarství is the property of Czech Medical Association of JE Purkyne and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Implementation of the uniform system of categorization of work in the Czech Republic (CR) is very helpful as an overview of work according to the level of risk and type of specific factors of working environment on the regional and also the national level, but has got significant limitations in practice. This fact is supported by the evidence that a half of all occupational diseases in the CR has arisen at workers classified to the first or the second non-risk categories. These categories should be safe with respect to health of workers. Application of categorization of work is the most effective for factors with a threshold effect and dose-response relationship such as noise or vibration. The greatest problems in the classification of the work to category represent factors with non-threshold effect such as allergens or biological agents. The origin of diseases caused by these factors is dominantly related to an individual susceptibility. In addition, the whole process of categorization of work is very often completed only with the formal classification of risk at work. The consequent risk management activities focus on risk reduction or the complete elimination of risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]