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Biomonitoring Human Pesticide Exposures
Published in Donald J. Ecobichon, Occupational Hazards of Pesticide Exposure, 2020
Pesticide risk management requires multidisciplinary approaches to measure chemical exposures resulting from integrated pest management in agriculture, structural pest control, disease vector control in public health, and domestic use of household products (Fig. 7-1). Biological monitoring can make a substantial contribution to the process. Biomonitoring develops quantitative data about the magnitude of exposure and knowledge of the occurrence of chemicals in living things or the environment. The information is important to product development and stewardship as well as regulatory risk assessment and risk management. Contemporary risk management places a high premium on accurate exposure data (NRC/NAS 1983).
Microalgae as a Source of Sustainability
Published in Pau Loke Show, Wai Siong Chai, Tau Chuan Ling, Microalgae for Environmental Biotechnology, 2023
Pik Han Chong, Jian Hong Tan, Joshua Troop
As society grows, so does pollution. But the relationship between population growth and pollution growth is not linear, and this is a desperate situation that requires immediate attention. The researchers are theorizing and inventing new ways to counter the devastating and terrifying growth in pollution and global warming. There is a method being used not to counter, but to measure the growth in pollution called biomonitoring. To simply explain, biomonitoring is the process of identifying changes or anomalies in the ecosystem, landscape, and biodiversity (Needham, Calafat, and Barr 2007). Biomonitoring can be also used to detect toxic chemicals that would be harmful or lethal to humans and wildlife. Biomonitoring can be performed in a plethora of ways such as observing changes or looking out for unusual ill-health in wildlife (Bonada et al. 2006), by measuring chemicals within the body tissues of an organism, or even through urine cycles of an organism that resides in the suspected area (Vandenberg et al. 2010). Soil or plant matter can also be gathered to detect harmful chemicals or changes (Manning and Feder 1980). A tool that can be used for biomonitoring is biosensors. Biosensors are devices that can detect a chemical substance and determine the properties of the substance, leading to the identification of a polluted or toxic area. They do this by creating a signal that would be similar to the concentration of the analytes in the reaction of the substance. These sensors are even capable of detecting ions, bacteria, and organic compounds (Malmqvist 1993; Vigneshvar et al. 2016). As such, these ions, bacteria, and organic compounds could be considered biomarkers. Biomarkers refer to the indications of objective and quantifiable characteristics of biological processes, substances, or structures (Strimbu and Tavel 2010). For example, if a person is suspected to be suffering from mercury poisoning from their environment, a biomonitoring test will be done on that person and their environment. The test will look out for mercury as the biomarker in their blood and urine sample as well as samples from their environment (Paustenbach and Galbraith 2006).
Assessment of phthalate exposure at a fire site in Korean firefighters
Published in International Journal of Environmental Health Research, 2023
Soyoung Park, Hyun-Soo Kim, Hyun-Jeong Oh, Insung Chung, Yeon-Soon Ahn, Kyoung Sook Jeong
Phthalates’ exposure in firefighters can occur via inhalation, dermal absorption, and ingestion. Biomonitoring is a useful method for evaluating exposure because it can integrate multiple routes of exposure and directly reflect the total body burden. Various biological fluids, including blood, urine, saliva, and respiratory fluids, are used in biomonitoring, and urine is the most common and least invasive matrix for evaluating occupational biomarkers of exposure. The assessment of human exposure to phthalates is based on the measurement of its monoester metabolites in urine. Phthalates have a short half-life (2–12 h) in the body and are rapidly excreted in urine as monoester metabolites (Calafat and McKee 2006). Thus, measurement of urine phthalate metabolites are suitable biomarkers for assessing human exposure to the parent compounds (Silva et al. 2003). Over the past 25 years (1995–2020), there have been 44 studies on occupational exposure of firefighters through the assessment of urinary biomarkers, most of which focused on PAHs and heavy metals (Barros et al. 2021). Although there have been concerns about firefighters’ exposure to phthalates, few studies have measured phthalate levels in firefighters due to difficulties in predicting fire outbreaks as well as difficulties in assessment due to the short half-life of phthalates (less than 24 hours). This study aimed to evaluate phthalate exposure in firefighters after a fire event and on a normal day using biomonitoring.
A critical review of human internal exposure and the health risks of organophosphate ester flame retardants and their metabolites
Published in Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 2022
Yan Yang, Peng Chen, Shengtao Ma, Shaoyou Lu, Yingxin Yu, Taicheng An
Concern about OPEs as emerging organic pollutants has increased in recent years as brominated flame retardants have been phased out. Human biomonitoring studies are the most important tools for determining exposure to contaminants and potential health risks. Therefore, the number of studies on OPEs in humans has been rising. The studies published to date have mainly focused on the occurrence of OPEs in human samples, the composition profiles of OPEs, associations with disease, and the health risks of OPEs. However, there have been far fewer studies on OPEs than on traditional flame retardants, and there is a particular lack of data on human internal exposure based on measurements using blood, hair, nails, and other matrices. Because of the liability of OPEs, strong acids cannot be used to purify them from complex samples, which presents challenges during sample pretreatment and increases the impact of matrix interferences during instrumental analysis. Effective and flexible sample pretreatment methods such as QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, safe) method for these compounds should be developed because of the complexity of these samples, and more sensitive analytical methods such as the application of MS/MS detection or high resolution mass spectrometry are needed because of the low concentrations of some OPE and mOPE analogues. Additionally, the lack of commercial standards, particularly of HO-OPEs, is a major barrier to research. The synthesis of HO-OPE standards and new methods for their analysis are thus urgently needed.
Human health risk assessment of metals exposure through subsistence foods consumption and subsistence harvest activities near a mining transport road in northwest Alaska
Published in Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal, 2021
Michael R. Garry, Scott S. Shock, Johanna Salatas
The biomonitoring surveys provide important public health information directly to the individuals who participated in the study and are useful as supporting information for the risk assessment process. However, these studies cannot, nor were they designed to provide direct input to the lead exposure models used in the risk assessment. In the ADPH study, there were no study participants in the 0- to 6-year-old range, and the age group was evaluated in the IEUBK child lead model and the target population for the subsistence use scenario. Of the participants in the 18-and-older group, the report does not segregate data by sex or specific age group. Women of child-bearing age (approximately 18 to 45 years of age) are the population evaluated in the ALM and are the target population for the worker/subsistence use scenario.