| Biomonitoring and Biomarkers: Exposure Assessment Will Never Be the Same Dennis Paustenbach and David Galbraith ChemRisk Inc., San Francisco, California, USA Abstract
Using modern analytical technology, it is now possible to measure almost any chemical present in our bodies. The future role of classical exposure assessment will perhaps be marginalized because biomonitoring programs can directly measure the concentration of chemicals that are present in biologic matrices. Although the concentration of chemicals in the environment will continue to be measured and related to exposure parameters, the prioritization of the national environmental agenda will be dictated by biomonitoring. Recent biomonitoring studies have examined the levels of > 200 chemicals. Biomonitoring data, by themselves, are not informative in helping consumers understand their individual health risk. A major challenge facing those who conduct biomonitoring programs is how to best communicate the information to the public. In this article, we review benefits and challenges, along with select results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2005 National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals. We recommend that these data be carefully interpreted, with the goal of establishing baseline exposure information, rather than creating surrogates for conclusions about human health risk. Key words: biomarker, biomonitoring, exposure assessment, risk assessment. Environ Health Perspect 114:1143–1149 (2006) . doi:10.1289/ehp.8755 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 26 April 2006]
Address correspondence to D.J. Paustenbach, ChemRisk Inc., 25 Jessie St. at Ecker Square, Suite 1800, San Francisco, CA 94105 USA. Telephone: (415) 896-2400 Ext. 1001. Fax: (415) 896-2444. E-mail: dpaustenbach@chemrisk.com This study was supported by the American Council on Science and Health, which provided a stipend, and by ChemRisk Inc. The authors received a stipend from the American Council on Science and Health, a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization concerned with issues related to food and nutrition, chemicals, the environment, and health. Received 18 October 2005 ; accepted 25 April 2006.
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