You are here:
FOCUSING ON CHILDREN’S INHALATION DOSIMETRY AND HEALTH EFFECTS FOR RISK ASSESSMENT: AN INTRODUCTION
Citation:
FOOS, B., M. MARTY, J. SCHWARTZ, W. BENNETT, J. MOYA, A. M. JARABEK, AND A. SALMON. FOCUSING ON CHILDREN’S INHALATION DOSIMETRY AND HEALTH EFFECTS FOR RISK ASSESSMENT: AN INTRODUCTION. JOURNAL OF TOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH. Taylor & Francis, Inc., Philadelphia, PA, 71(3):149-65, (2008).
Impact/Purpose:
This is a summary article of a session at a workshop sponsored by the Office of Children’s Health in Washington DC in June 2006. The objective of the workshop was to evaluate different approaches (e.g., at EPA and California EPA) and the state-of-the-science (e.g., different models of gas uptake and particle distribution) with respect to whether they are adequately addressing issues that may make children more at risk from such inhaled agents. The purpose of this session was to summarize current approaches to risk assessment specific to considerations of children and what is know regarding relative prevalence of respiratory disease in children.
Description:
Substantial effort has been invested in improving children’s health risk assessment in recent years. However, the body of scientific evidence in support of children’s health assessment is constantly advancing requiring continual updating of risk assessment methods. Children’s inhalation dosimetry and child-specific health effects are of particular concern for risk assessment. When focusing on this topic within children’s health, key issues for consideration include: the epidemiological evidence of adverse effects following children’s exposure to air pollution, ontogeny of the lungs and effects on dosimetry, estimation and variability of children’s inhalation rates, and current risk assessment methodologies for addressing children. In this article, existing and emerging information relating to these key issues are introduced and discussed in an effort to better understand children’s inhalation dosimetry and health effects for risk assessment. While much useful evidence is currently available, additional research and methods are warranted for improved children’s health risk assessment.
