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AN OVERVIEW FOR THE TECHNICAL SESSION: EXPOSURE MEDIUM FOOD
Citation:
Berry Jr., M R. AN OVERVIEW FOR THE TECHNICAL SESSION: EXPOSURE MEDIUM FOOD. Presented at ISEA Annual Meeting, Charleston, SC, November 5, 2001.
Impact/Purpose:
The overall objective of this research is to support NERL's human exposure measurement and exposure modeling efforts by reducing the amount of uncertainty in the dietary measurements critically needed for improved risk assessment. Specifically, the research provides the tools needed to collect and analyze food samples and to design and understand dietary measurements. The current specific objectives are:
1. to investigate more efficient methods for characterizing population exposures in dietary measurements studies (short-term subtask initiated in FY00; extramural);
2. to develop and improve analytical methods for contaminants in composite food samples collected in dietary measurements studies (long-term subtask; in-house);
3. to improve the model and food database system used in measurements studies for estimating dietary exposure and identifying sources (long-term subtask; extramural).
Description:
Historically, research on food as a source of human exposure to environmental contaminants has focused on a few chemical categories. Crops are treated with insecticides, fungicides and herbicides to enhance production and market appeal. Pestidice residues persist and are routinely found in foods at the market level. Other contaminants like metals accumulate in foods through uptake from soil or air, or as a result of the food chain process. Over the last decade, aggregate or multimedia exposure evaluations, such as the National Human Exposure Assessment Survey (NHEXAS), have included daily dietary intake of food as a potential pathway of human exposure. Often, diet has proved to be a significant contributor for a wider variety of compounds, a few of which were previously considered to be limited to unique pathways, such as air, water, dust or soil. The Food Quality Protectoin Act of 1996 has also had a major impact on the way pesticides are evaluated before they can be applied to foods. Both aggregate and cumulative exposures are now evaluated to establish safe levels for agricultural and residential pesticide applications. In some cases, it is the synergism of foods in contact with other contaminated media that has proven to be of significance. We are beginning to understand that the way children behave while they eat can be a dominant factor in exposure evaluation. The presentations in this and other dietary exposure sessions and posters are indeed varied. Such diverse research activities and exposure evaluations reflect that food is now more generally recognized throughout the exposure community as a potentially significant source of exposure to a broader range of environmental contaminants.