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Use of exposure databases for status and trends analysis.
L R Goldman1, M Gomez, S Greenfield
1California Department of Health Services, Division of Environmental and Occupational Disease Control, Emeryville.
Archives of Environmental Health
|November 1, 1992
Summary
Environmental exposure databases are crucial for public health but often lack sufficient data for accurate human exposure assessment. Improvements are needed in data specificity, risk group documentation, and early warning systems for better environmental health surveillance.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Public Health Surveillance
- Exposure Science
Background:
- Exposure databases are vital for tracking environmental health status and trends.
- Inferring human exposure or internal dose often requires supplementary data.
- Key applications include program planning, environmental health surveillance, and epidemiologic research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the adequacy of existing exposure databases for human exposure assessment.
- To identify methodological gaps in current data systems.
- To develop criteria for improving information needs in human exposure assessment.
Main Methods:
- A work group established six criteria for assessing information needs in human exposure assessment.
- These criteria were applied to evaluate six existing databases for monitoring drinking water contaminants.
- Data gaps were identified by comparing database content against the established criteria.
Main Results:
- Available databases demonstrated significant shortcomings in meeting the criteria for human exposure assessment.
- Specific deficiencies include inadequate location and facility/chemical identifiers, and poor documentation of special populations.
- Current systems lack sufficient data for monitoring changes over time and providing early warnings of emerging exposure issues.
Conclusions:
- Existing data systems inadequately measure human exposure and its trends.
- Data are insufficient for monitoring exposures in many critical population subgroups and environmental contexts.
- There is a pressing need for an "early warning" system for human exposures.
- Data system designers must prioritize the needs of users involved in monitoring human exposure status and trends.