Biological Monitoring (Biomonitoring) 01
Biological Monitoring (Biomonitoring) 01 : (a) Measuring chemicals in biological materials (blood, urine, breath, etc). to determine whether chemical exposure in humans, animals, or plants has occurred. [ATSDR, 1999: Online Glossary] [New York Department of Health, 1999: Glossary of Environmental Health Terms]; (b) This is a procedure of periodic examination of biological specimens for the purposes of monitoring). It is usually applied to exposure monitoring but can also apply to effect monitoring. Analysis of the amounts of potentially toxic substances or their metabolites present in body tissues and fluids, as a means of assessing exposure to these substances and aiding timely action to prevent adverse effects. The term is also used to mean assessment of the biological status of populations and communities of organisms at risk, in order to protect them and to have early warning of possible hazards to human health. [Duffus, 2000: Univ. Edinburgh Med School On-line Chemical Safety Glossary]; (c) A method of assessing the absorption of chemicals by measuring the parent compound or its metabolites in body fluids, usually blood, urine or exhaled breath. Woollen (1993) refined this term in the context of pesticides and assessment of absorbed dose for risk assessment: Measurement of a pesticide or its metabolites in the body fluids of exposed persons and conversion to an equivalent absorbed dose of the pesticide based on a knowledge of its human metabolism and pharmacokinetics. [OECD, 1997: Occupational Exposure to Pesticides]; (d) 1. The use of living organisms to test the suitability of effluents for discharge into receiving waters and to test the quality of such waters downstream from the discharge. 2. Analysis of blood, urine, tissues, etc., to measure chemical exposure in humans. [USEPA, 1997a: EPA Terms of Environment]
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