10.2190/643R-GM5C-VC73-XLX6 643RGM5CVC73XLX6 2 A Reliability Analysis of Occupational Exposure Data Using a Family of Proportional and Additive Hazard Functions 293 306 20020509 20020509 20020509 20020509 643RGM5CVC73XLX6.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=643RGM5CVC73XLX6 4 Jonathan F. Bard Operations Research Group, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas, Austin The growing debate on regulation in the work place calls for an improvement in the analytic techniques used to assess occupational risks and mortality. The intent of this article is to investigate a family of hazard models that may be employed in this effort. The underlying problem is first placed in context with a discussion of risk attitudes and the dangers of exposure. Next, proportional and additive hazard models are introduced which combine a standard (but unknown) hazard function with a set of explanatory variables. The family is developed with the aid of a parameterized link function, while maximum likelihood is used to obtain coefficient estimates. After describing the methodology an application is given for the case where only two samples of grouped data are available. A related example is then worked out using survival data collected on persons employed in the asbestos processing industry. The results confirm both the flexibility and sensitivity of the approach while leaving open the possibility of further refinements. P. C. Fishburn, Foundations of Risk Management, I. Risk As Probability Loss, <i>Management Science, 30</i>:4, pp. 396-406, April 1984. I. Erhlich and G. S. Becker, Market Insurance, Self-Insurance, and Self-Protection, <i>Journal of Political Economy, 80</i>, pp. 623-648, July/August 1972. J. F. Bard, Regulating Nonnuclear Industrial Wastes by Hazard Classification, <i>Journal of Environmental Systems, 13</i>:1, pp. 21-41, 1983-84. B. Fischhoff, Setting Standards: A Systematic Approach to Managing Public Health and Safety Risks, <i>Management Science, 30</i>:1, pp. 823-843, July 1984. A. P. Sage and E. B. White, Methodologies for Risk and Hazard Assessment: A Survey and Status Report, <i>IEEE trans. Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, SMC-10.8</i>, pp. 425-446, 1980. R. H. Shachtman, J. R. Schoenfelder, and C. J. Hogue, Conditional Rate Derivation in the Presence of Intervening Variables Using a Markov Chain, <i>Operations Research, 30</i>:6, pp. 1070-1081, November/December 1982. D. R. Cox, Regression Models and Life Tables (with discussion), <i>Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series B, 34</i>, pp. 187-220, 1972. J. C. Hennessey, Testing the Predictive Power of a Proportional-Hazard Semi-Markov Population Model, <i>Mathematical Biosciences, 67</i>:2, pp. 193-212, 1983. W. W. Lowrance, <i>On Acceptable Risk</i>, Kaufmann, Inc., Los Altos, California, 1976. J. Baranson, Risk Perception of Technology Decisions in Public Enterprises: A Framework for Further Research, <i>Engineering Economist, 23</i>:1, pp. 31-39, 1977. P. R. Portney, Housing Prices, Health Effects, and Valuing Reductions in Risk of Death, <i>Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 8</i>, pp. 72-78, 1981. C. Starr and C. Whipple, A Perspective on Health and Safety Risk Analysis, <i>Management Science, 30</i>:4, pp. 452-463, April 1984. C. A. Nobbs and D. W. Pearce, The Economics of Stock Pollutants: The Cadmium Example, <i>International Journal of Environmental Studies, 12</i>:3, pp. 103-114, 1976. D. J. Lennett, Handling Hazardous Wastes: An Unsolved Problem, <i>Environment, 22</i>:8, pp. 6-15, 1980. J. A. Nelder and R. W. M. Wedderburn, Generalized Linear Models, <i>Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series A, 135</i>, pp. 370-384, 1972. D. R. Cox, Partial Likelihood, <i>Biometrika, 62</i>, pp. 269-276, 1975. R. C. Elandt-Johnson and N. L. Johnson, <i>Survival Models and Data Analysis</i>, Wiley, New York, 1980. F. T. Mason and W. Pike, The Dangers of the Work Place, Technical Report No. 82-1172, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D. C., 1982.