Toxicity Weighting for Human Biomonitoring Mixture Risk Assessment: A Proof of Concept.

Chemical mixture risk assessment has, in the past, primarily focused on exposures quantified in the external environment. Assessing health risks using human biomonitoring (HBM) data provides information on the internal concentration, from which a dose can be derived, of chemicals to which human populations are exposed. This study describes a proof of concept for conducting mixture risk assessment with HBM data, using the population-representative German Environmental Survey (GerES) V as a case study.

Application of human biomonitoring data to support policy development, raise awareness and environmental public health protection among countries within the HBM4EU project.

Most countries have acknowledged the importance of assessing and quantifying their population's internal exposure from chemicals in air, water, soil, food and other consumer products due to the potential health and economic impact. Human biomonitoring (HBM) is a valuable tool which can be used to quantify such exposures and effects. Results from HBM studies can also contribute to improving public health by providing evidence of individuals' internal chemical exposure as well as data to understand the burden of disease and associated costs thereby stimulating the development and implementation of evidence-based policy.

Identification of Real-Life Mixtures Using Human Biomonitoring Data: A Proof of Concept Study.

Human health risk assessment of chemical mixtures is complex due to the almost infinite number of possible combinations of chemicals to which people are exposed to on a daily basis. Human biomonitoring (HBM) approaches can provide inter alia information on the chemicals that are in our body at one point in time. Network analysis applied to such data may provide insight into real-life mixtures by visualizing chemical exposure patterns.

Mixture risk assessment and human biomonitoring: Lessons learnt from HBM4EU.

Unintentional chemical mixtures that are present in the environment are of societal concern as the (environmental) chemicals contained therein, either singly or in combination, may possess properties that are hazardous (toxic) for human health. The current regulatory practice, however, is still largely based on evaluating single chemical substances one-by-one. Over the years various research efforts have delivered tools and approaches for risk assessment of chemical mixtures, but many of these were not considered sufficiently mature for regulatory implementation.

Assessment of exposure to pesticide mixtures in five European countries by a harmonized urinary suspect screening approach.

Humans are exposed to a mixture of pesticides through diet as well as through the environment. We conducted a suspect-screening based study to describe the probability of (concomitant) exposure to a set of pesticide profiles in five European countries (Latvia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Spain and the Netherlands). We explored whether living in an agricultural area (compared to living in a peri-urban area), being a a child (compared to being an adult), and the season in which the urine sample was collected had an impact on the probability of detection of pesticides (-metabolites).

Green space, air pollution, traffic noise and mental wellbeing throughout adolescence: Findings from the PIAMA study.

Background: Green space, air pollution and traffic noise exposure may be associated with mental health in adolescents. We assessed the associations of long-term exposure to residential green space, ambient air pollution and traffic noise with mental wellbeing from age 11 to 20 years.

Methods: We included 3059 participants of the Dutch PIAMA birth cohort who completed the five-item Mental Health Inventory (MHI-5) at ages 11, 14, 17 and/or 20 years.

Effects of exposure to surrounding green, air pollution and traffic noise with non-accidental and cause-specific mortality in the Dutch national cohort.

Background: Everyday people are exposed to multiple environmental factors, such as surrounding green, air pollution and traffic noise. These exposures are generally spatially correlated. Hence, when estimating associations of surrounding green, air pollution or traffic noise with health outcomes, the other exposures should be taken into account.

Green space, air pollution, traffic noise and saliva cortisol in children: The PIAMA study.

Unlabelled: Green space, air pollution, and traffic noise exposure may be associated with stress levels in children. A flattened diurnal cortisol slope (the decline in cortisol concentrations from awakening to evening) is an indicator of chronic stress. We examined associations of green space, ambient air pollution, and traffic noise with the diurnal cortisol slope in children 12 years of age.

Network Analysis to Identify Communities Among Multiple Exposure Biomarkers Measured at Birth in Three Flemish General Population Samples.

Humans are exposed to multiple environmental chemicals via different sources resulting in complex real-life exposure patterns. Insight into these patterns is important for applications such as linkage to health effects and (mixture) risk assessment. By providing internal exposure levels of (metabolites of) chemicals, biomonitoring studies can provide snapshots of exposure patterns and factors that drive them.

Proximity to livestock farms and exposure to livestock-related particulate matter are associated with lower probability of medication dispensing for obstructive airway diseases.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess whether medication use for obstructive airway diseases is associated with environmental exposure to livestock farms. Previous studies in the Netherlands at a regional level suggested that asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are less prevalent among persons living near livestock farms.

Methods: A nationwide population-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 7,735,491 persons, with data on the dispensing of drugs for obstructive airway diseases in the Netherlands in 2016.

Analysis of different preferences for the EU's regulatory options for endocrine disruptor identification criteria using argumentation theory.

What criteria are most suitable to identify endocrine disrupting substances (EDSs) for regulatory purposes in the EU? The results of the European Commission's public consultation, as part of the process to establish identification criteria for EDSs, show that different regulatory options are supported. Some respondents prefer an option including hazard characterization considerations, whereas others prefer an option that avoids these considerations and introduces several hazard-identification based weight-of-evidence categories. In this study, the argumentation underlying the different preferences for identification criteria are analyzed and compared using pragma-dialectical argumentation theory (PDAT).

Effects of Dutch livestock production on human health and the environment.

Observed multiple adverse effects of livestock production have led to increasing calls for more sustainable livestock production. Quantitative analysis of adverse effects, which can guide public debate and policy development in this area, is limited and generally scattered across environmental, human health, and other science domains. The aim of this study was to bring together and, where possible, quantify and aggregate the effects of national-scale livestock production on 17 impact categories, ranging from impacts of particulate matter, emerging infectious diseases and odor annoyance to airborne nitrogen deposition on terrestrial nature areas and greenhouse gas emissions.

Surrounding green, air pollution, traffic noise exposure and non-accidental and cause-specific mortality.

Background: Most previous studies that investigated associations of surrounding green, air pollution or traffic noise with mortality focused on single exposures.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate combined associations of long-term residential exposure to surrounding green, air pollution and traffic noise with total non-accidental and cause-specific mortality.

Methods: We linked a national health survey (Public Health Monitor, PHM) conducted in 2012 to the Dutch longitudinal mortality database.

Statement on advancing the assessment of chemical mixtures and their risks for human health and the environment.

The number of anthropogenic chemicals, manufactured, by-products, metabolites and abiotically formed transformation products, counts to hundreds of thousands, at present. Thus, humans and wildlife are exposed to complex mixtures, never one chemical at a time and rarely with only one dominating effect. Hence there is an urgent need to develop strategies on how exposure to multiple hazardous chemicals and the combination of their effects can be assessed.

Risk of pneumonia among residents living near goat and poultry farms during 2014-2016.

In the Netherlands, an association was found between the prevalence of pneumonia and living near goat and poultry farms in 2007-2013. This association then led to regulatory decisions to restrict the building of new goat farms and to reduce emissions of poultry farms. Confirmation of these results, however, is required because the period of previous analyses overlapped a Q-fever epidemic in 2007-2010.

Residential surrounding green, air pollution, traffic noise and self-perceived general health.

Self-perceived general health (SGH) is one of the most inclusive and widely used measures of health status and a powerful predictor of mortality. However, only a limited number of studies evaluated associations of combined environmental exposures on SGH. Our aim was to evaluate associations of combined residential exposure to surrounding green, air pollution and traffic noise with poor SGH in the Netherlands.

Associations of Combined Exposures to Surrounding Green, Air Pollution, and Road Traffic Noise with Cardiometabolic Diseases.

Background: Surrounding green, air pollution, and noise have been associated with cardiometabolic diseases, but most studies have assessed only one of these correlated exposures.

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate associations of combined exposures to green, air pollution, and road traffic noise with cardiometabolic diseases.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we studied associations between self-reported physician-diagnosed diabetes, hypertension, heart attack, and stroke from a Dutch national health survey of 387,195 adults and residential surrounding green, annual average air pollutant concentrations [including particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text]), PM with aerodynamic diameter [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text]), nitrogen dioxide ([Formula: see text]), and oxidative potential (OP) with the dithiothreitol (DTT) assay ([Formula: see text])] and road traffic noise.

Green space, air pollution, traffic noise and cardiometabolic health in adolescents: The PIAMA birth cohort.

Background: Green space has been hypothesized to improve cardiometabolic health of adolescents, whereas air pollution and traffic noise may negatively impact cardiometabolic health.

Objectives: To examine the associations of green space, air pollution and traffic noise with cardiometabolic health in adolescents aged 12 and 16 years.

Methods: Waist circumference, blood pressure, cholesterol and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) were measured in subsets of participants of the Dutch PIAMA birth cohort, who participated in medical examinations at ages 12 (n = 1505) and/or 16 years (n = 797).

Associations of combined exposures to surrounding green, air pollution and traffic noise on mental health.

Background: Evidence is emerging that poor mental health is associated with the environmental exposures of surrounding green, air pollution and traffic noise. Most studies have evaluated only associations of single exposures with poor mental health.

Objectives: To evaluate associations of combined exposure to surrounding green, air pollution and traffic noise with poor mental health.

The associations of air pollution, traffic noise and green space with overweight throughout childhood: The PIAMA birth cohort study.

Background: Air pollution, traffic noise and absence of green space may contribute to the development of overweight in children.

Objectives: To investigate the combined associations of air pollution, traffic noise and green space with overweight throughout childhood.

Methods: We used data for 3680 participants of the Dutch PIAMA birth cohort.

Expert Views on Their Role as Policy Advisor: Pilot Study for the Cases of Electromagnetic Fields, Particulate Matter, and Antimicrobial Resistance.

This perspective presents empirical data to demonstrate the existence of different expert views on scientific policy advice on complex environmental health issues. These views are partly research-field specific. According to scientific literature, experts differ in the way they provide policy advice on complex issues such as electromagnetic fields (EMF), particulate matter (PM), and antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Development of Policy Relevant Human Biomonitoring Indicators for Chemical Exposure in the European Population.

The European Union's 7th Environmental Action Programme (EAP) aims to assess and minimize environmental health risks from the use of hazardous chemicals by 2020. From this angle, policy questions like whether an implemented policy to reduce chemical exposure has had an effect over time, whether the health of people in specific regions or subpopulations is at risk, or whether the body burden of chemical substances (the internal exposure) varies with, for example, time, country, sex, age, or socio-economic status, need to be answered. Indicators can help to synthesize complex scientific information into a few key descriptors with the purpose of providing an answer to a non-expert audience.

Current EU research activities on combined exposure to multiple chemicals.

Humans and wildlife are exposed to an intractably large number of different combinations of chemicals via food, water, air, consumer products, and other media and sources. This raises concerns about their impact on public and environmental health. The risk assessment of chemicals for regulatory purposes mainly relies on the assessment of individual chemicals.

Why Do Countries Regulate Environmental Health Risks Differently? A Theoretical Perspective.

Why do countries regulate, or prefer to regulate, environmental health risks such as radiofrequency electromagnetic fields and endocrine disruptors differently? A wide variety of theories, models, and frameworks can be used to help answer this question, though the resulting answer will strongly depend on the theoretical perspective that is applied. In this theoretical review, we will explore eight conceptual frameworks, from different areas of science, which will offer eight different potential explanations as to why international differences occur in environmental health risk management. We are particularly interested in frameworks that could shed light on the role of scientific expertise within risk management processes.