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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Amy D. Kyle, PhD MPH¹, Kevin E. Marsee², Miriam Rotkin-Ellman¹, Martyn T. Smith, PhD¹, and John R. Balmes, MD³. (1) School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley, EHS, 140 Warren Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720, 510-642-8847, adkyle@berkeley.edu, (2) Joint Medical Program, University of California Berkeley and San Francisco, 2209 Jefferson Ave #2, Berkeley, CA 94703, (3) School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley, School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, 140 Warren Hall, COEH, Berkeley, CA 94720

Measurement of concentrations of environmental agents in human tissues is receiving increasing attention. This is partly due to the release of biannual reports on human exposures to chemicals by the Centers for Disease Control, the inclusion of such “biomonitoring” results as a key element in environmental public health tracking initiatives, and efforts by states to develop state or multi-state biomonitoring programs. Biomonitoring has also been used in many research studies looking at relationships between environmental factors and health outcomes. How biomonitoring results could be used to address information needs in public policy is an important issue. The rights and interests of individuals and communities involved in such biomonitoring are also significant concerns. We consulted with key stakeholders for a biomonitoring program for California. We identified policy relevant questions that the stakeholders would like to see a biomonitoring program answer and the knowledge base that they viewed as relevant to answer them. We developed case studies that considered biomonitoring projects to assess whether these questions had been or could have been addressed. We also used the case studies to identify parameters of such biomonitoring projects that determine whether the questions could be addressed. We investigated approaches taken in biomonitoring projects to date to address individual and community concerns about use and sharing of data. This session will present the results of case studies and summarize implications for the development of biomonitoring programs intended to provide information relevant for public health practice.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, the participants will be able to

(
• explain the concept of biomonitoring; (
• identify important policy relevant questions that may be addressed through biomonitoring projects; (
• describe four parameters of biomonitoring projects that influence what questions they can answer; and (
• identify three key issues of concern for individuals and communities.

Keywords: Environmental Health, Public Health Policy

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No