Human Biomonitoring – An overview on biomarkers and their application in Occupational and Environmental Health

Abstract

Human biomonitoring (HBM) is a scientificallydeveloped approach for assessing human exposures to natural and synthetic compounds from environment, occupation, and lifestyle. It relies on the measurement of particular substances or biological breakdown products, known as metabolites, in human tissues and/or fluids, and also includes the study of their effects and the possible influence of individual susceptibility as response modulators. HBM is a growing area of knowledge used for exposure and risk assessment in environmental and occupational health, and its importance has been increasing as a result of advancements in the ability to measure greater numbers of chemicals in the human body and tissues. In order to achieve this purpose, HBM focuses on the use of biomarkers as measurable indicators of early changes in biological systems. However, because data interpretation requires caution, it is strongly recommended that the interpretation of HBM results be combined with air monitoring data or pharmacokinetic modelling in order to better understand exposure sources and the metabolism of chemicals.

Biomonitoring as an Underused Exposure Assessment Tool in Occupational Safety and Health Context—Challenges and Way Forward

“…To summarise, BM data can support several occupational health information needs, namely: providing knowledge of exposure by all exposure routes, determine if a specific exposure has occurred and if it implies a risk to health; helping practitioners to understand the results from clinical testing in some circumstances; recognising the adequacy of the RMMs in place; demonstrating the link between an occupational exposure and a health effect. Finally, BM data can support health monitoring and surveillance programmes, and identify possible trends in exposure [17,[24][25][26].…”

“…Therefore, effect biomarkers used as early predictors of clinical disease can advance occupational health risk assessment and trigger new effective disease prevention actions in occupational settings, but further validation is needed [2,26]. The potential of using effect biomarkers was also recognized recently by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) occupational biomonitoring activity of Working Party on Hazard and Exposure assessment and within the ISES Europe Human Biomonitoring working group and it is the main subject of a submitted publication (Zare Jeddi et al, submitted).…”

Pollution Biomarkers in Environmental and Human Biomonitoring

“…Strictly speaking a biomarker is defined as a biological response to a chemical or a group of chemical agents. However, the measurement of a xenobiotic in a biological system or sample is often used as "biomarker of internal dose", particularly in human biomonitoring [8]. It represents the likely concentration of a parent compound or metabolite at the target site.…”

“…On the other hand "biomarkers of effective dose" are markers measured in the target tissues or surrogate tissue (such as saliva, urine) that reflect the interaction of the absorbed compound with a subcellular target. Examples of biomarkers of effective dose can be represented by alteration in enzyme activities or formation of DNA adducts or protein adducts in circulating blood cells [8].…”

Radon Exposure and Human Health: What Happens in Volcanic Environments?

“…Biomarkers are commonly used as "agents" to measure the concentrations of chemical substances, their metabolites, or reaction products in human tissues or specimens, representing an integrative measurement of exposure to a given agent (i.e., the internal dose), that result from complex pathways of human exposure and also incorporate toxicokinetic information and individual characteristics such as a genetically based susceptibility [29].…”