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Cumulative Risk: Toxicity and Interactions of Physical and Chemical Stressors
Citation:
Rider, C., K. Boekelheide, N. Catlin, C. Gordon, T. Morata, M. Selgrade, K. Sexton, AND J. Simmons. Cumulative Risk: Toxicity and Interactions of Physical and Chemical Stressors. TOXICOLOGICAL SCIENCES. Society of Toxicology, RESTON, VA, 137(1):3-11, (2014).
Impact/Purpose:
This is the first known attempt to pull together what is known about the effects of physical stressors on chemical exposure, known interactions between physical and chemical stressors and consideration of incorporating physical stressors into cumulative risk assessments. The workshop also identified important knowledge gaps in the state of the science.
Description:
ABSTRACT Recent efforts to update cumulative risk assessment procedures to incorporate nonchemical stressors ranging from physical to psychosocial, reflect increased interest in consideratio of the totality of variables affecting human health and the growing desire to develop community based risk assessment methods. A key roadblock is uncertainty as to how nonchemical stressors behave in relationship to chemical stressors. Physical stressors offer a reasonable starting place for measuring the effects of nonchemical stressors and their modulation of chemical effects (and vice versa) as they clearly differ from chemical stressors; and, "doses" of many physical stressors are more easily quantifiable than psychosocial stressors. There is a commonly held belief that virtually nothing is known about the impact of nonchemical stressors on chemically-mediated toxicity or the joint impact of co-exposure to chemical and nonchemical stressors. While this is generally true, there are several instanes where a substantial body of evidence exists. A workshop titled "Cumulative Risk: Toxicity and Interations of Physical and Chemical Stressors" held at the 2013 Society of Toxicology Meeting, provided a forum for discussion of research addressing the toxicity of physical stressors and what is known about their interactions with chemical stressors, both in terms of exposure and effects. Physical stressors including sun light, heat,radiation, infectious disease, and noise were discussed in reference to identifying pathways of interaction with chemical stressors, data gaps, and suggestions for future incorporation into cumulative risk assessments.