Biomonitoring data

Table 3 Estimated Margins of Exposure for Chlorpyrifos from Biomonitoring Data Using Geometric Means (Single-Point Approach)3...

Table 4 Statistical (Probability) Analysis of Chlorpyrifos Biomonitoring Data for Mixer-Loaders and Applicators...

Potential dermal exposure (PDE) was the sum of the amount of chlorpyrifos retained by the dosimeter (socks, gloves, and union suit) during the 20-min exposure period. Absorbed daily dose (ADD) was the sum of chlorpyrifos equivalents measured in urine for days 2,3, and 4. Home-use biomonitoring data are expressed as chlorpyrifos equivalents per day, as exposure continued throughout the test period. 

Table 6 Selected biomonitoring data on phthalate metabolites exposure in different countries (median, range or 95th percentile), expressed in pg/L, found in different population... 

Martin, AM, Use Biomonitoring Data to Reduce Effluent Toxicity, Chem. Eng. Progress, 43 (September 1992). 

COMMUNICATING RESULTS, INTERPRETATIONS, AND USES OF BIOMONITORING DATA TO NONSCIENTISTS Limits of This Chapter s Discussion, 202... 

Overview of interpretive options for biomonitoring data, 133 5-2 Illustration of the interpretive risk-based options, 136... 

Evolution of risk assessment and risk management, 160 5-7 Conversion of biomonitoring data to daily dose on the basis of one-compartment (body-burden) model, 166 5-8 Blood concentrations of rapidly cleared chemical to which there is frequent and nearly uniform exposure, 167 5-9 Conversion of biomonitoring data to daily dose on basis of one-compartment model for non-lipid-soluble chemicals at steady state, 168... 

Biomonitoring is defined in this report as one method for assessing human exposure to chemicals by measuring the chemicals or their metabolites in human tissues or specimens, such as blood and urine. In studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), biomonitoring data have helped to identify chemicals found in the environ-... 

The ability to generate new biomonitoring data often exceeds the ability to evaluate whether and how a chemical measured in an individual or population may cause a health risk or to evaluate its sources and pathways for exposure. As CDC states in its National Reports on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals, the presence of a chemical in a blood or urine specimen does not mean that the chemical causes a health risk or disease. The challenge for public-health officials is to understand the health implications of the biomonitoring data, to provide the public with appropriate information, and to craft appropriate public-health policy responses. 

To address some of those challenges raised by biomonitoring data, Congress2 directed EPA to ask the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academies to perform an independent study. 

Framework for Characterizing Biomarkers and Uses of Biomonitoring Data... 

As the number of biomonitoring studies and the number of subjects and chemicals measured increases, there is a need for clarification of the appropriate uses and interpretation of biomonitoring data. The general public needs to know the meaning and limitations of the data, and public-health officials, who are often called on for interpretation of results, also need to be adequately informed. 

Considerable controversy often surrounds the interpretation of biomonitoring data. Researchers are generating biomonitoring data whose relevance to human health is unclear in many cases. For example, news-media reports present stories of people who have had their blood tested and are alarmed to learn that it contains hundreds of chemicals. For a number of those chemicals, scientific data could enable interpretation of individual measurements in comparison with validated reference values, but usually the interpretation stops with the mere observation that the chemical is present. 

Given the central role of communication in the interpretation and use of biomonitoring data and the great uncertainty about what makes communication effective, building infrastructure and research in this field must have high priority for biomonitoring investigators and sponsors. 

To realize the potential of biomonitoring, investment in research is needed to address the critical knowledge gaps that hinder the ability to use biomonitoring data and interpret what they mean with respect to risks to public health. The committee s research recommendations focus not on specific chemicals but rather on methods that can be applied to a broad array of chemicals. Implementation of the research recommendations by federal and state agencies and universities will benefit from an improvement in some parts of our nation s research infrastructure. 

Finding The ability to detect chemicals has outpaced the ability to interpret health risks. Epidemiologic, toxicologic, and exposure-assessment studies have not adequately incorporated biomonitoring data for interpretation of health risks at the individual, community, and population levels. 

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