Exposure Assessment In Environmental Epidemiology

Preceded by Exposure assessment in occupational and environmental epidemiology / edited by Mark J. Nieuwenhuijsen. 1st ed. 2003.

Set against a background of growing public, media and political concern about occupational and environmental health issues, and a scientific need to better understand and explain the effects of pollutants on human health, this book is a unique resource. Contributions from an expert panel of international practitioners provide a comprehensive reference on the state of the art methods and applications in the field of occupational and environmental pollution and the adverse health effects, particularly the exposure assessment in epidemiological studies. Risks associated with occupational and environmental exposure are generally small, but the exposed population, and hence the population attributable risk, may be large. To detect small risk, the exposure assessment needs to be very refined. Exposure assessment is the study of the distribution and determinants of potentially hazardous agents, and includes the estimation of intensity, duration and frequency of exposure, the variation in these indices and their determinants. The aim of this book is to develop an understanding and knowledge of exposure assessment methods and their application to substantive issues in occupational and environmental epidemiology. The emphasis is on methodological principles and good practice. It is focused on exposure assessment in both occupational and environmental epidemiology since there are many similarities but also some interesting differences. The book outlines the basic principles of exposure assessment, and examines the current status and research questions in the exposure assessment of occupational and environmental epidemiological studies of allergens, particulate matter, chlorination disinfection by-products, agricultural pesticides and radiofrequencies. The book will be of interest to all concerned with exposure assessment and epidemiology. It will be a valuable source for undergraduate and postgraduate courses in exposure assessment, occupational hygiene, environmental science, epidemiology, toxicology, biostatistics, occupational and environmental health, health risk assessment and related disciplines and a useful resource of reference for policy makers and regulators.

Environmental Epidemiology: Exposure and Disease is a unique resource identifying priorities for public health research in selected areas of environmental epidemiology. Drawn from the proceedings of an international workshop on this topic, the book is a compilation of the specialized knowledge and opinions of environmental epidemiology experts. Organized by the Rome division of the World Health Organization (WHO) European Centre for Environment and Health, the goal of the 1993 workshop, Setting Priorities in Environmental Epidemiology, was to establish a consensus among the experts in the selected areas. The chapters in Environmental Epidemiology: Exposure and Disease cover environmental epidemiology from three different viewpoints: environmental exposures, major disease groups related to the environment, and epidemiological methodology. The environmental exposure categories examined for prioritizing are air contaminants, water contaminants, and ionizing and non-ionizing radiation exposure from human-caused disasters. The major disease groups covered are neoplastic diseases, lung cancer, and non-carcinogenic respiratory disease. Methods discussed in the book include small area studies, use of biochemical markers, exposure assessment, and training. To prioritize, the authors utilized a set of criteria based on exposure conditions, health effects, and the feasibility of human studies. Within the complex and rapidly growing field of environmental epidemiology, this compendium of international expertise provides essential guidance for research emphasis and the allocation of financial and technical resources.

The amount of hazardous waste in the United States has been estimated at 275 million metric tons in licensed sites alone. Is the health of Americans at risk from exposure to this toxic material? This volume, the first of several on environmental epidemiology, reviews the available evidence and makes recommendations for filling gaps in data and improving health assessments. The book explores: Whether researchers can infer health hazards from available data. The results of substantial state and federal programs on hazardous waste dangers. The book presents the results of studies of hazardous wastes in the air, water, soil, and food and examines the potential of biological markers in health risk assessment. The data and recommendations in this volume will be of immediate use to toxicologists, environmental health professionals, epidemiologists, and other biologists.

Determining the health risks to humans of exposure to toxic substances in the environment is made difficult by problems such as measuring the degree to which people have been exposed and determining causationâ€"whether observed health effects are due to exposure to a suspected toxicant. Building on the well-received first volume, Environmental Epidemiology: Hazardous Wastes and Public Health, this second volume continues the examination of ways to address these difficulties. It describes effective epidemiological methods for analyzing data and focuses on errors that may occur in the course of analyses. The book also investigates the utility of the gray literature in helping to identify the often elusive causative agent behind reported health effects. Although gray literature studies are often based on a study group that is quite small, use inadequate measures of exposure, and are not published, many of the reports from about 20 states that were examined by the committee were judged to be publishable with some additional work. The committee makes recommendations to improve the utility of the gray literature by enhancing quality and availability.

In this book, Thomas J. Smith and David Kriebel assert that important advances in the quantification of environmental risks can only come through a true synthesis of the fields of environmental epidemiology and exposure assessment. They have built a common biologic model of exposure, physiologic response, and disease, a synthesis of the various existing models which serves to both simplify and improve the application of environmental epidemiology and exposure assessment to current and future environmental chemical risks.

Environmental epidemiology is the study of disease and environmental determinants of disease in humans, for example air pollution, water contamination, pesticides and telephone masts. This book describes the methods of environmental epidemiology and provides practical guidance on how to conduct studies on environmental problems and health effects.