Addressing systemic problems with exposure assessments to protect the public’s health

Environmental Health

Review

Kristin Shrader-Frechette¹  Miriam L. Diamond²  Laura N. Vandenberg³  Courtney C. Carignan⁴  Deborah H. Bennett⁵  Bhavna Shamasunder⁶  Rashmi Joglekar⁷  Daniel A. Axelrad⁸  Wilma A. Subra⁹  Nicholas Chartres^1,10  Tracey J. Woodruff^1,10  Swati D. G. Rayasam^1,10  Phil Brown^1,11  Ken Zarker^1,12 

[1] Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA;Department of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA;Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada;School of the Environment, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada;Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health & Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA;Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA;Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA;Department of Urban & Environmental Policy and Public Health, Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA, USA;Earthjustice, New York, NY, USA;Earthjustice, Washington, DC, USA;Independent Consultant, Washington, DC, USA;Louisiana Environmental Action Network, Baton Rouge, LA, USA;Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA;Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA;Washington State Department of Ecology, Olympia, WA, USA;

关键词: Biomonitoring;    Uncertainty;    Superfund;    Toxic substances control act;    Physiologically based toxicokinetic model;    US Environmental Protection Agency;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12940-022-00917-0

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundUnderstanding, characterizing, and quantifying human exposures to environmental chemicals is critical to protect public health. Exposure assessments are key to determining risks to the general population and for specific subpopulations given that exposures differ between groups. Exposure data are also important for understanding where interventions, including public policies, should be targeted and the extent to which interventions have been successful. In this review, we aim to show how inadequacies in exposure assessments conducted by polluting industries or regulatory agencies have led to downplaying or disregarding exposure concerns raised by communities; that underestimates of exposure can lead regulatory agencies to conclude that unacceptable risks are, instead, acceptable, allowing pollutants to go unregulated; and that researchers, risk assessors, and policy makers need to better understand the issues that have affected exposure assessments and how appropriate use of exposure data can contribute to health-protective decisions.MethodsWe describe current approaches used by regulatory agencies to estimate human exposures to environmental chemicals, including approaches to address limitations in exposure data. We then illustrate how some exposure assessments have been used to reach flawed conclusions about environmental chemicals and make recommendations for improvements.ResultsExposure data are important for communities, public health advocates, scientists, policy makers, and other groups to understand the extent of environmental exposures in diverse populations. We identify four areas where exposure assessments need to be improved due to systemic sources of error or uncertainty in exposure assessments and illustrate these areas with examples. These include: (1) an inability of regulatory agencies to keep pace with the increasing number of chemicals registered for use or assess their exposures, as well as complications added by use of ‘confidential business information’ which reduce available exposure data; (2) the failure to keep assessments up-to-date; (3) how inadequate assumptions about human behaviors and co-exposures contribute to underestimates of exposure; and (4) that insufficient models of toxicokinetics similarly affect exposure estimates.ConclusionWe identified key issues that impact capacity to conduct scientifically robust exposure assessments. These issues must be addressed with scientific or policy approaches to improve estimates of exposure and protect public health.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2022