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Data-Mining and Informatics Approaches for Environmental Contaminants
Citation:
Chang, D., Rocky Goldsmith, A. Fraile Rodriguez, Chris Grulke, P. Egeghy, AND J. Mitchell-Blackwood. Data-Mining and Informatics Approaches for Environmental Contaminants. Edition 1, Chapter 1, McGraw-Hill Handbook of Science & Technology. McGraw-Hill Companies, New York, NY, , 1-9, (2014).
Impact/Purpose:
The National Exposure Research Laboratory′s (NERL′s) Human Exposure and Atmospheric Sciences Division (HEASD) conducts research in support of EPA′s mission to protect human health and the environment. HEASD′s research program supports Goal 1 (Clean Air) and Goal 4 (Healthy People) of EPA′s strategic plan. More specifically, our division conducts research to characterize the movement of pollutants from the source to contact with humans. Our multidisciplinary research program produces Methods, Measurements, and Models to identify relationships between and characterize processes that link source emissions, environmental concentrations, human exposures, and target-tissue dose. The impact of these tools is improved regulatory programs and policies for EPA.
Description:
New and emerging environmental contaminants are chemicals that have not been previously detected or that are being detected at levels significantly different from those expected in both biological and ecological arenas (that is, human, wildlife, and environment). Many chemicals can originate from a variety of sources, including consumer, agriculture, and industry as well as natural and/or anthropogenic disaster scenarios. For example, endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), pharmaceuticals, and personal care products (such as therapeutic, nontherapeutic, and veterinary drugs, as well as cosmetics and fragrances) are known to be present in many of the world's water bodies and thought to originate from a variety of sources, including improper disposal into municipal sewage, agribusiness, and veterinary practices. The detection and quantification of these chemicals from a toxicology and exposure perspective is paramount to understanding their effects on both the ecosystem and human health. EDCs act on the endocrine system and are known to alter sexual development and fertility in many vertebrate species. It is suspected that they may play a role in species population decline as well as public health issues.
URLs/Downloads:
FINALDATAMININGANDINFORMATICS WITH ATTACHMENTS.PDF (PDF, NA pp, 370.331 KB, about PDF)McGraw-Hill
