Human health endpoints

Criteria 1) Relevance to human health endpoints. 2) Sensitivity to change in loadings. 3) Overall historical data quality. 4) Data collection infrastructure. 5) Feasibility of data collection and analysis. 6) Ability to adjust for confounding factors. 7) Understanding of linkages with rest of ecosystem. 8) Broad geographic distribution. 9) Well-known life history (for fauna). 10) Nonintrusive sampling. 

HUMAN HEALTH ENDPOINTS IN TECHNOGENIC AND AGROGENIC BIOGEOCHEMICAL PROVINCES... 

The Relevance to Public Health section provides a health effects summary based on evaluations of existing toxicologic, epidemiologic, and toxicokinetic information. This summary is designed to present interpretive, weight-of-evidence discussions for human health endpoints by addressing the following questions. 

This book intends to provide a starting point for those interested in the prediction of the toxicity and fate of chemicals to humans and the environment. SARs and, more frequently, quantitative structure-activity relationships (QS ARs) provide methods to predict these endpoints. A brief history of the area, the driving forces, and basis of the topic is provided in this chapter. Further chapters (2 to 7) describe the methods to develop predictive models the application of models to human health endpoints (Chapters 8 to 11) their application to environmental toxicity and fate (Chapters 12 to 17) and the use of predictive models (Chapter 19), adoption by the regulatory authorities (Chapter 19), and validation (Chapter 20). 

Prediction of Human Health Endpoints Mutagenicity and Carcinogenicity... 

Protection Agency/European Union properties, environmental fate parameters, ecotoxicological and human health endpoints. methods Protection Agency (1994)... 

The validation process enabled the Danish EPA to state that, the (QSAR) models used here are now so reliable that they are able to predict whether a given substance has one or more of the properties selected with an accuracy of approximately 70-85%. In addition to the use described above, the Danish EPA has developed a QSAR database that contains predicted data on more than 166,000 substances (OSPAR Commission, 2000). The Danish EPA used a suite of commercially available and proprietary QSARs for environmental and human health endpoints (see those listed in Table 19.5). The predictions were made off-line and were stored in a database (derived from the CHEM-X software). The database was searchable by Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) number or chemical name. Only discrete organic chemicals can be stored in the database. 

To derive an MRL, ATSDR generally selects the most sensitive endpoint which, in its best judgement, represents the most sensitive human health effect for a given exposure route and duration. ATSDR cannot make this judgement or derive an MRL unless information (quantitative or qualitative) is available for all... 

Fourteen formulations of chemical alternatives were submitted to EPA under confidentiality and they were assessed based on numerous human health and ecotoxicity endpoints in addition to bioaccumulation potential and environmental persistence. They were also screened for potential exposure to workers, users and the aquatic environment. Where data gaps existed, EPA experts used models and chemical analogs to estimate the hazard for a particular endpoint. The literature and test data reviews were published in the final report, Environmentally Preferable Options for Furniture Fire Safety Low Density Furniture Foam . In addition, each hazard endpoint was ranked with a concern level (High, Moderate or Low) based on the criteria used by the EPA s New Chemicals Program to rate the concern level of new chemicals submitted under the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA). As seen in Figure 8.2, where the hazard endpoint rankings are bold, the value is based on experimental data. Where the hazard endpoints are presented in italic font, the value is estimated based on models or chemical analogs. In this way, detailed hazard information was summarized and presented in a clear and concise format. 

Carcinogenicity is one of the toxicological endpoints that pose the highest concern for human health. Nowadays, protection against cancer resulting from exposure to chemicals in the environment is a critical goal in public health management. 

Jaworska, J.S., Bomber, M., Auer, C. and Van Leeuwen, C.J. (2003). Summary of a workshop on regulatory acceptance of (Q)SARs for human health and environmental endpoints. Environmental Health Perspective 111 1358-1360. 

The majority of early publications that can be reasonably identified as comprising immunotoxicology reported altered resistance to infection in animals exposed to various environmental or industrial chemicals. Authors logically concluded that xenobiotic exposure suppressed immune function since the immune system is ultimately responsible for this resistance to infection. Subsequent studies demonstrated that suppression of various cellular and functional endpoints accompanied or preceded increased sensitivity to infection, and that administration of known immunosuppressants likewise decreased host resistance. The human health implications of these studies, that chemical exposure reduced resistance to infection, drove the initial focus of many immunotoxicologists on functional suppression, and provided the theoretical and practical underpinnings of immunotoxicity testing. 

In this study two different endpoints have been selected human health aspects (critical limits based on drinking water quality) and ecotoxicological effects on biota (critical limits based on free metal ions concentration) (Priputina et al., 2004b). 

Critical Loads of Heavy Metals Depending on ERA Endpoints The ecosystem characteristics of case study plots in various natural forests of the European part of Russia are shown in Table 4. Critical loads in an occasion of human health and ecotoxicological effects on biota (endpoints) have been accounted. Corresponding critical limits of HM concentration in soil drainage waters are presented in Table 1. 

Swan SH (2008) Environmental phthalate exposure in relation to reproductive outcomes and other health endpoints in humans. Environ Res 108 177-184... 

ECETOC. 2003. (Q)SARs Evaluation of the commercially available software for human health and environmental endpoints with respect to chemical management applications. ECETOC Technical Report No. 89. Brussels ECETOC. 

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