Exposure Assessment in Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology

Abstract The recent and rapid expansion of occupational and environmental epidemiology and health risk assessment looks set to continue in line with growing public, government, and media concern about occupational and environmental health issues, and a scientific need to better understand and explain the effects of occupational and environmental pollutants on human health. 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 risks, 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. Epidemiological studies can utilize information on variation and determinants of exposure to optimize the exposure-response relations. Many methodological and practical problems arise when conducting an exposure assessment for epidemiological studies and these are addressed in the book, as is the issue of measurement error and exposure misclassification and its effect on exposure response relationships. The book outlines the basic principles of exposure assessment, in both occupational and environmental epidemiology, since there are many similarities but also some interesting differences. It 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.