The use of biomonitoring data in exposure and human health risk assessment: benzene case study.

Abstract A framework of "Common Criteria" (i.e. a series of questions) has been developed to inform the use and evaluation of biomonitoring data in the context of human exposure and risk assessment.

Development of screening tools for the interpretation of chemical biomonitoring data.

Evaluation of a larger number of chemicals in commerce from the perspective of potential human health risk has become a focus of attention in North America and Europe. Screening-level chemical risk assessment evaluations consider both exposure and hazard. Exposures are increasingly being evaluated through biomonitoring studies in humans.

Case studies to test: A framework for using structural, reactivity, metabolic and physicochemical similarity to evaluate the suitability of analogs for SAR-based toxicological assessments.

A process for evaluating analogs for use in SAR (Structure-Activity Relationship) assessments was previously published (Wu et al. 2010). Subsequently, this process has been updated to include a decision tree for estrogen binding (from US EPA) and flags for developmental and reproductive toxicity (DART).

Refining aggregate exposure: example using parabens.

The need to understand and estimate quantitatively the aggregate exposure to ingredients used broadly in a variety of product types continues to grow. Currently aggregate exposure is most commonly estimated by using a very simplistic approach of adding or summing the exposures from all the individual product types in which the chemical is used. However, the more broadly the ingredient is used in related consumer products, the more likely this summation will result in an unrealistic estimate of exposure because individuals in the population vary in their patterns of product use including co-use and non-use.

An evaluation of the genotoxicity of the antitussive drug Dextromethorphan.

Dextromethorphan (DMP) is an effective and widely used antitussive drug. While DMP has over a 50 year safe-marketing history, the only available genotoxicity data was an unpublished, negative Ames assay (Roche). Lack of a complete genotoxicity profile on DMP, specifically covering the chromosomal damage endpoint, prompted a regulatory request for an in vitro chromosome aberration assay.

Making sense of human biomonitoring data: findings and recommendations of a workshop.

The ability to measure chemicals in humans (often termed biomonitoring) is far outpacing the ability to interpret reliably these data for public health purposes, creating a major knowledge gap. Until this gap is filled, the great promise of routinely using biomonitoring data to support decisions to protect public health cannot be realized. Research is needed to link biomonitoring data quantitatively to the potential for adverse health risks, either through association with health outcomes or using information on the concentration and duration of exposure, which can then be linked to health guidelines.

Use of biomonitoring data to evaluate methyl eugenol exposure.

Methyl eugenol is a naturally occurring material found in a variety of food sources, including spices, oils, and nutritionally important foods such as bananas and oranges. Given its natural occurrence, a broad cross-section of the population is likely exposed. The availability of biomonitoring and toxicology data offers an opportunity to examine how biomonitoring data can be integrated into risk assessment.

The use of biomonitoring data in exposure and human health risk assessments.

Biomonitoring uses analytic methods that permit the accurate measurement of low levels of environmental chemicals in human tissues. However, depending on the intended use, biomonitoring, like all exposure tools, may not be a stand-alone exposure assessment tool for some of its environmental public health uses. Although biomonitoring data demonstrate that many environmental chemicals are absorbed in human tissues, uncertainty exists regarding if and at what concentrations many of these chemicals cause adverse health outcomes.

Strategic biomonitoring initiatives: moving the science forward.

Biomonitoring programs in the United States and Europe demonstrate the vast array of data that are publicly available for the evaluation of exposure trends, identification of susceptible populations, detection of emerging chemical risks, the conduct of epidemiology studies, and evaluation of risk reduction strategies. To cultivate international discussion on these issues, the ILSI Health and Environmental Sciences Institute convened a scientific session at its annual meeting in January 2006 on "Integration of Biomonitoring Exposure Data into the Risk Assessment Process." This Forum paper presents perspectives from session speakers on the biomonitoring activities of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.

Ethnic differences in survival among Pacific Island patients diagnosed with cervical cancer.

Background: It was the purpose of this study to investigate whether Pacific Island (PI) ethnicity, Micronesian and Polynesian, is an independent prognostic factor in the survival of cervical cancer in a health care system with minimal racial bias and few barriers to access to care.

Methods: Records from 1988 to 1999 were reviewed for the U.S.