ÄSB

ÄSB is the acronym for "Ärztlicher Sachverständigenbeirat Berufskrankheiten des Bundesministeriums für Arbeit und Soziales". The ASB is an internal advisory body, independent of instructions, which supports the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs in its decision-making on medical and scientific issues. The task of the Advisory Board is to review and evaluate the state of scientific knowledge with regard to updating existing occupational diseases or including new ones in the Occupational Diseases Ordinance. The Advisory Board makes recommendations and statements to the Ministry on the basis of existing findings.

The scientific recommendations of the ÄSB Expert Advisory Board are published by the Ministry. They form the scientific basis for the Federal Government's decision on the inclusion of new diseases in the list of occupational diseases and recognition as an occupational disease in individual cases by the statutory accident insurance institutions.

The Expert Advisory Board consists of twelve members who are appointed by the Ministry for a period of five years. The work on the advisory board is carried out on an honorary basis and is not remunerated. In accordance with the tasks of the committee, the members are predominantly university lecturers in the field of occupational medicine; the advisory board also includes two state industrial physicians and two company physicians. The advisory board elects a chairman and a deputy chairman from among its members.

If specialist expertise from other disciplines is required for individual issues, external experts are consulted. The work of the Advisory Board is also supported by its scientific office at the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Two representatives of the statutory accident insurance institutions attend the meetings as permanent guests without voting rights.