Biomonitoring

In <a href="/facts/Analytical_chemistry/MHQf3YP6">analytical chemistry</a>, biomonitoring is the measurement of the body burden of toxic <a href="/facts/Chemical_compound/37FXqqtv">chemical compounds</a>, <a href="/facts/Chemical_element/0jducgWD">elements</a>, or their <a href="/facts/Metabolite/nAyywVtA">metabolites</a>, in biological substances. Often, these measurements are done in blood and urine. Biomonitoring is performed in both <a href="/facts/Environmental_health/cfvvLeYB">environmental health</a>, and in <a href="/facts/Occupational_safety_and_health/ko1IeS92">occupational safety and health</a> as a means of <a href="/facts/Exposure_assessment/WmnqSNdn">exposure assessment</a> and <a href="/facts/Workplace_health_surveillance/LqHuuKES">workplace health surveillance</a>.
The two best established environmental biomonitoring programs in representative samples of the general population are those of the United States and Germany, although population-based programs exist in a few other countries. In 2001, the U.S. <a href="/facts/Centers_for_Disease_Control_and_Prevention/NmoJNDV5">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a> (CDC) began to publish its biennial National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals, which reports a statistically representative sample of the U.S. population.

Biomonitoring open-in-new

Biomonitoring