Biomonitoring
What is biomonitoring?
Assessment of exposure to toxic substances in people by the laboratory
measurement of these substances in specimens from humans such as: Blood,
Urine, Saliva.
Biomonitoring tells us:
- What we are exposed to and how much
- What exposures cause death and disease
- Whether preventions actually reduce exposure and disease
- Whether minorities, children, and underserved populations are more highly exposed
- What exposures are causing emergencies
Biomonitoring is critical for:
- Assessing domestic terrorism
- Handling chemical emergencies
- Preventing disease
- Identifying dangerous exposures among Americans
- Protecting children, elderly, minorities and poor
- Determining what is safe and what is dangerous
- Military personnel during deployments
- Reducing costs of public health responses
Complementary Roles of Environmental Monitoring and Biomonitoring
- Environmental Monitoring: measurements of the concentration of toxicants in environmental media such as air, water, soil and dust
- Biomonitoring: measurements of the concentration of toxicants in biological specimens such as blood, serum and urine to provide "internal dose" measurements in an individual, or across a population
Resources