CDC Chemical Exposure Report Begins To Fill Info Gaps In Environmental Health
US-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released the first national report on human exposure to environmental chemicals, an important research tool that will provide better info on levels of exposure to environmental chemicals and over time what these levels mean for public health.
According to a press release, advances in a technology known as bio-monitoring allow CDC to measure chemicals directly in blood and urine samples rather than estimating population exposures by measuring air, water or soil samples.
Based on this scientific advancement, the report provides data on actual levels of chemicals in humans. As data are collected over the years, researchers will be better able to determine possible health effects and design appropriate public health strategies.
The first report initially measures the exposure of the US population to 27 environmental chemicals including lead, mercury, pesticide metabolites, phthalate metabolites and cotinine which tracks exposure to tobacco smoke.
Although the report does not include new info on health risks of exposures or on potential routes of exposures, this is the first time that national exposure levels of the US population are known for 24 of these 27 chemicals.
The presence of a chemical in blood or urine does not necessarily indicate the chemical will cause disease. Additional research is needed to determine whether the levels reported are a cause for health concern.
The report provides info on the exposure of the US population to these 27 substances. The chemicals, grouped into four categories, are:
- Metals - lead, mercury, cadmium, cobalt, antimony, barium, beryllium, cesium, molybdenum, platinum, thallium, tungsten and uranium
- Tobacco smoke - cotinine
- Organophosphate pesticides
- Phthalate metabolites
Highlights of the report
Cotinine - is a breakdown product of nicotine after it enters the body. Levels of cotinine in the body track the amount of exposure a person has to tobacco smoke. For a non-smoker, it tracks exposure to environmental tobacco.
Lead - CDC has been measuring the population's exposure to lead since 1976. The good news is that blood lead levels continue to decline among children overall. However, other data show that children living in environments placing them at high risk for lead exposure remain a major public health concern.
Next steps
CDC will add other substances to future reports. It will continue to measure the 27 original substances as well. The goal over the next few years is to expand the report to cover about 100 chemicals.
It will monitor trends over time that may help scientists better understand the impact of environmental chemicals on health.
In the future, it will be able to report exposure levels for more specific population groups, for example children, minority populations or women of childbearing age.
In addition, CDC will expand the report to include exposure data from studies of people exposed from localized or point-source exposures, for example data on levels of mercury in people who eat mercury-contaminated fish from a polluted river.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
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