Environmental Health Criteria 214

HUMAN EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT
laboratories.
Preceding this criteria document the UNEP, FAO and WHO have been
actively advancing the concepts and methodologies for human exposures.
GEMS/Air, GEMS/Water and GEMS/Food are establishing the uniformity
among data collected worldwide to establish national and international
status and trends. These efforts, together with others, such as the
Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues, the several Joint FAO/WHO
Consultations on food consumption, pesticide residues, veterinary
drugs, additives and chemical contaminants, have been developing the
basis of quantitative assessment of human exposures and risk. Table 38
(pg. 279) provides a listing of pertinent publications related to
assessment of air, water and food contamination.
Scope
This current criteria document on human exposure assessment
presents in one publication the concepts, rationale, and statistical
and procedural methodologies for human exposure assessment. The
underpinnings of exposure assessment are the basic environmental and
biological measurements found in the more familiar specialties of air
and water pollution and food and soil sciences. Therefore, throughout
this document readers are referred to other publications for technical
details on instrumental and laboratory methods. This criteria document
is intended for the community of scientific investigators inquiring
about the human health consequences of contaminants in our
environment. As such, this text will be of interest to physical
scientists, engineers and epidemiologists. It is intended also for
those professions involved in devising, evaluating and implementing
policy with respect to managing the quality of environmental health,
inclusive of air, water, food and soil. By necessity environment is
defined broadly to include place, media, and activities where we
humans encounter contaminants.
Of primary concern in this document are those environmental
contaminants that exist in various media as a consequence of direct or
indirect human intention. We have included some biological agents that
are "natural" but, through actions of irritation and allergy, can
contribute to or cause morbidity and mortality as a result of
inadequate building design and maintenance. We recognize that viral,
bacterial and other biological agents in air, food, soil and water
contribute significantly to the burden of disease worldwide. However,
in the context of environmental exposure assessment the focus is on
chemical contaminants and a few specific allergens that might
contribute directly to disease or, in combination with biopathogens,
alter susceptibility and expression of disease.
To say that exposure assessment of environmental contaminants is
exclusive of any population or location is, in principle, a
contradiction. There are practical considerations, however, for
identifying the industrial workplace as a separate domain.
Administratively, many nations handle occupational health and safety
concerns separately from the environment. The management of workplace
hazards through well-established industrial hygiene practices of
source control, ventilation and worker protection are widely
recognized. This separation of workplace exposures from the general
environmental exposure focus in this document is not hard and fast.
Occupationally acquired contaminants can expose family members not
working in the specific industry. Industrial control strategies that
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