Exposure modelling in Europe: how to pave the road for the future as part of the European Exposure Science Strategy 2020–2030

Abstract

Exposure models are essential in almost all relevant contexts for exposure science. To address the numerous challenges and gaps that exist, exposure modelling is one of the priority areas of the European Exposure Science Strategy developed by the European Chapter of the International Society of Exposure Science (ISES Europe). A strategy was developed for the priority area of exposure modelling in Europe with four strategic objectives. These objectives are (1) improvement of models and tools, (2) development of new methodologies and support for understudied fields, (3) improvement of model use and (4) regulatory needs for modelling. In a bottom-up approach, exposure modellers from different European countries and institutions who are active in the fields of occupational, population and environmental exposure science pooled their expertise under the umbrella of the ISES Europe Working Group on exposure models. This working group assessed the state-of-the-art of exposure modelling in Europe by developing an inventory of exposure models used in Europe and reviewing the existing literature on pitfalls for exposure modelling, in order to identify crucial modelling-related strategy elements. Decisive actions were defined for ISES Europe stakeholders, including collecting available models and accompanying information in a living document curated and published by ISES Europe, as well as a long-term goal of developing a best-practices handbook. Alongside these actions, recommendations were developed and addressed to stakeholders outside of ISES Europe. Four strategic objectives were identified with an associated action plan and roadmap for the implementation of the European Exposure Science Strategy for exposure modelling. This strategic plan will foster a common understanding of modelling-related methodology, terminology and future research in Europe, and have a broader impact on strategic considerations globally.

A generic approach to estimate airborne concentrations of substances released by indoor spray processes using a deterministic 2-box model

“…The available mass-balance models (SprayExpo and ConsExpo) are regarded as higher tier models, as they need detailed information on the exposure situations such as information on particle size distribution. A comparison between the different models is beyond the scope of this publication, but there is a need for simple model approaches (6,7).…”

“…Especially the higher tier models require full details of the spraying process and the dispersion mechanisms, which are often not available. For this reason, simple model approaches and the improvement of existing spraying models are a valuable addition (6,7).…”

A primer on predictive techniques for food and bioresources transformation processes

“…Similar outcomes are expected for the eco‐efficient transformation of food and the use of bioresources. Predictive models are increasingly used in open‐loop simulations to guide governments (Acs et al, 2019) and evaluate alternative policies (Schlüter et al, 2022). The bioeconomy means using renewable biological resources from land and sea, like crops, forests, fish, animals, and micro‐organisms to produce food, materials and energy (European Commission, 2022).…”

Advancing exposure knowledge and its uptake into policy: The European exposure science strategy 2020–2030 (Special Issue)

“…First elements of the strategy have been published in a Special Topic of the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology (von Goetz and Fantke, 2022). These elements include more effective uptake of exposure science into policy (Bruinen de Bruin et al, 2022), advancing exposure models (Schlüter et al, 2022), and harmonizing exposure science terminology (Heinemeyer et al, 2022).…”