In 2019, the Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) celebrates 50 years of endeavour to understand and prevent occupational and environmental ill health.

The Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) is an organisation with a great history and unlimited potential for the future. This history of IOM provides a set of personal perspectives about the people, science and the major events that have shaped the organisation over the last 50 years. 

This is a story of adaptation and imaginative evolution in the face of changing times for research and services in occupational health. It tells of a change in emphasis from coal dust to nanoparticles, from predominantly preventive medical research to mainly provision of consultative, training and measurement services, from doing it all alone to international and national collaborations, and from a UK emphasis to an international presence, especially across Europe and in Singapore.

In writing this book, the authors, all of whom have served in senior positions in IOM, have drawn heavily on their recollections as well as those of some current and former colleagues.

This book has been written in celebration of IOM’s 50th anniversary; it is intended to preserve and highlight the exceptional work of those that have passed through the Institute’s doors.