Exposure science

Exposure science is the study of an organism's (usually human) contact with chemical, physical, biological agents or other health risk (e.g. accidental) occurring in their environments, and advances knowledge of the mechanisms and dynamics of events either causing or preventing adverse health outcomes.[1]

Exposure science plays a fundamental role in the development and application of epidemiology, toxicology, and risk assessment. It provides critical information for protecting human and ecosystem health. Exposure science also has the ability to play an effective role in other fields, including environmental regulation, urban, traffic safety[2] and ecosystem planning, and disaster management; in many cases these are untapped opportunities. Exposure science links human and ecologic behavior to environmental processes in such a way that the information generated can be used to mitigate or prevent future adverse exposures.

— Applications of Exposure Science[3]

Exposure science can be thought of most simply as the study of stressors, receptors, and their contacts in the context of space and time. For example, ecosystems are receptors for such stressors as mercury, which may cascade from the ecosystem to populations to individuals in the ecosystem because of concentration and accumulation in the food web, which lead to exposure of humans and other species. As the stressor (mercury in this case) is absorbed into the bodies of organisms, it comes into contact with tissues and organs. It is important to recognize that exposure science applies to any level of biologic organization ecologic, community, or individual—and, at the individual level, encompasses external exposure (outside the person or organism), internal exposure (inside the person or organism), and dose[4].

See also

References
  1. Exposure Science in the 21st Century: A Vision and A Strategy. United States National Research Council. 2012. p. 19. doi:10.17226/13507. ISBN 978-0-309-26468-6.
  2. Vanparijs, J (2015). "Exposure measurement in bicycle safety analysis: A review of the literature". Accident Analysis & Prevention. 84: 9–19. doi:10.1016/j.aap.2015.08.007. PMID 26296182.
  3. "3: Applications of Exposure Science". Exposure Science in the 21st Century: A Vision and a Strategy. 2012.
  4. Exposure Science in the 21st Century: A Vision and a Strategy, Committee on Human and Environmental Exposure Science in the 21st Century; Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology; Division on Earth and Life Studies; National Research Council


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