ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
No Boundaries : An Introduction to International Biomonitoring Initiatives
By Julianne Nassif , MS , senior director , Environmental Health
Scientists around the world rely on human biomonitoring to measure chemical body burdens and understand sources and routes of chemical exposure to individuals , communities and populations . Biomonitoring investigations are resourceintensive activities requiring highly skilled analytical , epidemiological and toxicology personnel ; sophisticated instrumentation ; and extensive participant recruitment activities . As analytical technology evolved and expertise expanded , an increased volume of biomonitoring data is being generated and reported . Several biomonitoring networks and partnerships have been implemented globally , leveraging the expertise , capability and capacity of colleagues to meet jurisdictional public health and research needs .
Starting Local …
Within the US , the Division of Laboratory Sciences within the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ’ s ( CDC ) National Center for Environmental Health ( NCEH ) partners with the National Health and Nutrition Survey to collect clinical specimens and capture demographic and exposure information from a nationally representative US population . NCEH publishes the National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals and updates analyte-specific tables periodically . These statistically derived reference ranges are frequently used for comparative purposes when no health-based values are available .
The National Biomonitoring Network is a collaborative effort of APHL and NCEH , which aims to increase capability and capacity in the states to conduct highquality biomonitoring investigations for public health practice . State programs engage in biomonitoring for statewide surveillance , emergency response and / or community investigations . The data are used to inform and evaluate public health policy and interventions aimed at reducing exposures and improving health .
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences ( NIEHS ) coordinates the
Human Health Exposure Analysis Resource ( HHEAR ) a collaboration of academic , federal and state partners with advanced analytical and data analysis capabilities available to researchers .
These US-based efforts regularly collaborate with European , Asian and Canadian biomonitoring projects in three priority areas : harmonization of laboratory measures , contributions to repositories of health-based reference ranges and standardization of minimum information requirements .
… and Going Global
Several domestic and international laboratories have partnered to demonstrate testing proficiency through analysis of common quality assessment panels , proficiency testing challenges and analysis of split samples . These efforts demonstrate the initial successes of the harmonization scheme and highlight areas of opportunity for improvement through shared training and protocols .
The International Society of Exposure Sciences ( ISES ) brings together scientists engaged in analytical chemistry , toxicology , modeling and statistical analysis to share ideas . ISES is also home to the international working group on human biomonitoring ( i-HBM ). The working group aims to promote comparability across international programs and borders through consensus publications and amplification of data harmonization principles . This large and active workgroup has collaborated on important technical issues by raising the collective voice of the group and amplifying the work of the individual members .
The Canadian Health Measures Survey developed and maintains an open access database of published health-based reference ranges to which public health professionals and researchers can refer when considering program and / or policy development . It serves as a repository of ranges that were determined in various ways . They should be reviewed critically to ensure the methodology for deriving the standards meets current needs . A peer-reviewed publication , Interpreting Biomonitoring Data : Introducing the International Human Biomonitoring ( i-HBM ) Working Group ’ s Health-based Guidance Value ( HB2GV ) Dashboard , was published in 2023 . 1
European scientists from the Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals ( PARC ), a follow-up to the groundbreaking work of the 28-nation Human Biomonitoring for the European Union ( HBM4EU ), aims to improve knowledge about chemicals to protect human health and the environment . A first step in standardizing collection of biomonitoring demographic and exposure information is a draft manuscript initiated by PARC with substantive input from numerous collaborators in the US , Canada and Asia , Guidance on Minimum Information Required for Designing and Reporting Human Biomonitoring Studies 4 .
These are a few examples of efforts to harmonize laboratory measurements to enable comparison of biomonitoring data across geographic boundaries and to improve consistency in the way exposure information is gathered and interpreted . g
References
1 . Nakayama SF , St-Amand A , Pollock T , Apel P , Bamai YA , Barr DB , et al . Interpreting Biomonitoring Data : Introducing the International Human Biomonitoring ( i-HBM ) Working Group ’ s Health-based Guidance Value ( HB2GV ) Dashboard . Int J Hyg Environ Health . 2023 Jan ; 247:114046 . Available from www . ncbi . nlm . nih . gov / pmc / articles / PMC10103580 /
2 . Kolossa-Gehring M , Schoeters G , Castaño A , Barouki R , Haines D , Polcher A , et al . Special Issue Editorial : Key Results of the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative ( HBM4EU ). Int J Hyg Environ Health . 2023 Aug ; 253:114197 . Available from pubmed . ncbi . nlm . nih . gov / 37291032 /
3 . Various authors . Special Issue on Human Biomonitoring Networks . International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health . Available from www . sciencedirect . com / special-issue / 10VXCV96ZMZ
4 . Zayed et al . Guidance on Minimum Information Required for Designing and Reporting Human Biomonitoring Studies . Draft manuscript , 2024 .
24 LAB MATTERS Winter 2024
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