Introduction to Chemical Exposure and Risk Assessment focuses on the principles involved in assessing the risks from chemical exposure. These principles include the perception of risk, an understanding of how numbers are handled, and how chemicals affect health. The book briefly describes the major sinks, such as water and air, where chemicals are introduced. This is followed by a discussion on how concentrations are estimated and risk assessments are made. A discussion of risk benefit analysis and a presentation of several case studies using the principles for assessing risks are also included.

People are exposed to a variety of chemicals throughout their daily lives. To protect public health, regulators use risk assessments to examine the effects of chemical exposures. This book provides guidance for assessing the risk of phthalates, chemicals found in many consumer products that have been shown to affect the development of the male reproductive system of laboratory animals. Because people are exposed to multiple phthalates and other chemicals that affect male reproductive development, a cumulative risk assessment should be conducted that evaluates the combined effects of exposure to all these chemicals. The book suggests an approach for cumulative risk assessment that can serve as a model for evaluating the health risks of other types of chemicals.

In fact, with the control and containment of most infectious conditions and diseases of the past millennium having been achieved in most developed countries, and with the resultant increase in life expectancies, much more attention seems to have shifted to degenerative health problems. Many of the degenerative health conditions have been linked to thousands of chemicals regularly encountered in human living and occupational/work environments. It is important, therefore, that human health risk assessments are undertaken on a consistent basis - in order to determine the potential impacts of the target chemicals on public health.

The new field of toxicogenomics presents a potentially powerful set of tools to better understand the health effects of exposures to toxicants in the environment. At the request of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National Research Council assembled a committee to identify the benefits of toxicogenomics, the challenges to achieving them, and potential approaches to overcoming such challenges. The report concludes that realizing the potential of toxicogenomics to improve public health decisions will require a concerted effort to generate data, make use of existing data, and study data in new waysâ€"an effort requiring funding, interagency coordination, and data management strategies.

This completely updated edition of Exposure Assessment in Environmental Epidemiology offers a practical introduction to exposure assessment methodologies in environmental epidemiologic studies. In addition to methods for traditional methods -- questionnaires, biomonitoring -- this new edition is expanded to include geographic information systems, modeling, personal sensoring, remote sensing, and OMICs technologies. In addition, each of these methods is contextualized within a recent epidemiology study, maximizing illustration for students and those new to these to these techniques. With clear writing and extensive illustration, this book will be useful to anyone interested in exposure assessment, regardless of background.

The public depends on competent risk assessment from the federal government and the scientific community to grapple with the threat of pollution. When risk reports turn out to be overblownâ€"or when risks are overlookedâ€"public skepticism abounds. This comprehensive and readable book explores how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can improve its risk assessment practices, with a focus on implementation of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. With a wealth of detailed information, pertinent examples, and revealing analysis, the volume explores the "default option" and other basic concepts. It offers two views of EPA operations: The first examines how EPA currently assesses exposure to hazardous air pollutants, evaluates the toxicity of a substance, and characterizes the risk to the public. The second, more holistic, view explores how EPA can improve in several critical areas of risk assessment by focusing on cross-cutting themes and incorporating more scientific judgment. This comprehensive volume will be important to the EPA and other agencies, risk managers, environmental advocates, scientists, faculty, students, and concerned individuals.

At last – a second edition of this hugely important text that reflects the progress and experience gained in the last decade and aims at providing background and training material for a new generation of risk assessors. The authors offer an introduction to risk assessment of chemicals as well as basic background information on sources, emissions, distribution and fate processes for the estimation of exposure of plant and animal species in the environment and humans exposed via the environment, consumer products, and at the workplace. The coverage describes the basic principles and methods of risk assessment within their legislative frameworks (EU, USA, Japan and Canada).

The bestselling resource on industrial chemical assessment just got better. A practical guide to biological monitoring for industrial chemical exposure assessment, the THIRD EDITION of INDUSTRIAL CHEMICAL EXPOSURE: GUIDELINES FOR BIOLOGICAL MONITORING has been completely revised to include the latest developments in the field. In addition to an update of each chapter, major revisions have been made to take into consideration new information available since the publication of the second edition. SEE WHAT'S NEW IN THE THIRD EDITION: Major changes to the sections on lead, benzene, trichloroethylene, and dimethylformamide Fourteen completely new topics: bromine, molybdenum, perchlorate, platinum, n-heptane, ethene, 1,3-butadiene trimethylbenzene, naphthalene, terpenes, acrylamide, pesticides, tetrahydrofuran, methyl tertiarybutyl ether, n-nitrosodiethylamine Discussion of the metabolic fate of chemicals Increased information on the threshold of adverse effects levels Development of biological monitoring methods for assessing the internal dose of additional chemicals This authoritative book summarizes what is known about biological monitoring for inorganic, organic and organometallic substances. It provides a summary table with practical recommendations, giving you quick and easy access to the data. With INDUSTRIAL CHEMICAL EXPOSURE: GUIDELINES FOR BIOLOGICAL MONITORING you will understand the objectives of biological monitoring, the types of biological monitoring methods, their advantages and limitations, as well as practical aspects that must be considered before initiating a biological monitoring program.

Providing material for practitioners and students alike, Chemical Exposure and Toxic Responses is a clear and straightforward presentation of industrial toxicology. Exposure to toxic chemicals is of major concern to health professionals. In recent years, the scope and importance of hazardous materials toxicology has expanded and now impacts financial institutions, government, private corporations, and many other organizations as well. Chemical Exposure and Toxic Responses presents the myriad health implications of hazardous chemicals in a single source. This book is organized so that readers can proceed from a general perspective on the problem of chemical exposure and toxic responses to an understanding of toxicology and a method of inquiry. Written for anyone who needs practical toxicological information, the book compactly and efficiently presents the scientific basis of toxicology as it applies to the workplace. It covers the diverse chemical hazards encountered in the work environment and provides a practical understanding of these hazards for those charged with protecting the health and well being of people at work. Chemical Exposure and Toxic Responses consists of three parts: Part I establishes the general principles of industrial toxicology; Part II addresses specific effects of toxic agents on specific physiological organs and systems; and Part III is devoted to the evaluation of hazards in the workplace.

Can the electric and magnetic fields (EMF) to which people are routinely exposed cause health effects? This volume assesses the data and draws conclusions about the consequences of human exposure to EMF. The committee examines what is known about three kinds of health effects associated with EMF: cancer, primarily childhood leukemia; reproduction and development; and neurobiological effects. This book provides a detailed discussion of hazard identification, dose-response assessment, exposure assessment, and risk characterization for each. Possible Health Effects of Exposure to Residential Electric and Magnetic Fields also discusses the tools available to measure exposure, common types of exposures, and what is known about the effects of exposure. The committee looks at correlations between EMF exposure and carcinogenesis, mutagenesis, neurobehavioral effects, reproductive and developmental effects, effects on melatonin and other neurochemicals, and effects on bone healing and stimulated cell growth.