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Pilot Study Measurements as Reality Check for Predicting Consumer Product Chemical Exposures
Citation:
Buckley, T., P. Egeghy, Dan Stout, S. Prince, R. Walker, Lillian M. Alston, M. Ospina, J. Botelho, M. Rybak, A. Calafat, A. Rooney, D. Baird, AND K. Taylor. Pilot Study Measurements as Reality Check for Predicting Consumer Product Chemical Exposures. ISES, Virtual, NC, August 30 - September 02, 2021. https://doi.org/10.23645/epacomptox.24318985
Impact/Purpose:
Presentation at the International Society of Exposure Science (ISES) Virtual Conference September 2021. Human exposure to chemicals via consumer products is both complex and highly prevalent. Because of the complexity and expense, large-scale human exposure studies tend to rely on modeled estimates based on questionnaire data that evaluate consumer product purchase and/or use. The NIEHS Sister Study, a national cohort of more than 50,000 U.S. women, is one such study. Evaluating the reliability of questionnaires used in the Sister Study to derive estimates of consumer product exposure will require a large study involving measurements of chemicals in the residential environment and in biological fluids. EPA collaborated wth NIEHS to conduct a pilot-scale feasibility investigation consisting of an intensive nine-person exposure measurements study where participants were followed over 10 consecutive days.
Description:
Human exposure to chemicals via consumer products is both complex and highly prevalent. Because of the complexity and expense, large-scale human exposure studies tend to rely on modeled estimates based on questionnaire data that evaluate consumer product purchase and/or use. The NIEHS Sister Study, a national cohort of more than 50,000 U.S. women, is one such study. Evaluating the reliability of questionnaires used in the Sister Study to derive estimates of consumer product exposure will require a large study involving measurements of chemicals in the residential environment and in biological fluids. EPA collaborated wth NIEHS to conduct a pilot-scale feasibility investigation consisting of an intensive nine-person exposure measurements study where participants were followed over 10 consecutive days. Participants completed daily questionnaires in parallel with personal, environmental, and biological monitoring. Urine biomarkers (n=74) from daily 24-h collections were quantified at CDC laboratories using NHANES methods. Biomarker chemical classes included PAHs, pesticides, herbicides, phenols, flame retardants, phthalates, and dialkylphosphates. The biomaker measurements served as a gold-standard comparison against questionnaires and environmental measures. Urine biomarker detection frequencies varied by subject across all days ranging from 67% (PID 08) to 80% (PID 06) and by chemical class ranging from 14% (insecticides) to 100% (phytoestrogens). Daily questionnaires captured categorical generic household and personal care product use (n=117 categories; e.g. kitchen surface cleaner, shampoo, lotion) each day in 6-h intervals. Total counts of product use events over the 10 days of monitoring ranged from 206 (PID 06) to 502 (PID 10). The presentation will explore how much of the variability in biomarker measurements can be explained by questionnaire and environmental measurements data to evaluate questionnaire-derived exposure estimates. The variance explained based on such estimates may help inform the feasibility of future consumer chemical exposure approaches that allow for data collection across broader segments of society, including difficult to reach populations. The views expressed in this presentation are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views or the policies of the US EPA or the CDC.
URLs/Downloads:
DOI: Pilot Study Measurements as Reality Check for Predicting Consumer Product Chemical Exposures
PRESENTATION.PDF (PDF, NA pp, 1353.846 KB, about PDF)