Evaluation of human biomonitoring data in a health risk based context: An updated analysis of population level data from the Canadian Health Measures Survey

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DOI

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2019.07.009

Language of the publication
English
Date
2019-09-13
Type
Article
Author(s)
  • Faure, Sarah
  • Noisel, Nolwenn
  • Werry, Kate
  • Karthikeyan, Subramanian
  • Aylward, Lesa L.
  • St-Amand, Annie
Publisher
Elsevier

Abstract

In order to characterize exposure of the Canadian population to environmental chemicals, a human biomonitoring component has been included in the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS). This nationally-representative survey, launched in 2007 by the Government of Canada, has measured over 250 chemicals in approximately 30,000 Canadians during the last decade. The capacity to interpret these data at the population level in a health risk context is gradually improving with the development of biomonitoring screening values, such as biomonitoring equivalents (BE) and human biomonitoring (HBM) values. This study evaluates recent population level biomonitoring data from the CHMS in a health risk context using biomonitoring screening values. Nationally representative biomonitoring data for fluoride, selenium, molybdenum, arsenic, silver, thallium, cyfluthrin, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3-PBA), chlorpyrifos, deltamethrin, bisphenol A, triclosan, acrylamide, cadmium, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), bromoform, chloroform, benzene, toluene, xylene, ethylbenzene, styrene and tetrachloroethylene were screened as part as this study. For non-cancer endpoints, hazard quotients (HQs) were calculated as the ratio of population level concentrations of a specific chemical at the geometric mean and 95th percentile to the corresponding biomonitoring screening value. Cancer risks were calculated at the 5th, 25th, 50th, 75th and 95th percentiles of the population concentration using BEs based on a risk specific dose. Most of the chemicals analyzed had HQs below 1 suggesting that levels of exposure to these chemicals are not a concern at the population level. However, HQs exceeded 1 in smokers for cadmium, acrylamide and benzene, as well as in the general population for inorganic arsenic, PFOS and PFOA, 3-PBA and fluoride. Furthermore, cancer risks for inorganic arsenic, acrylamide, and benzene at most population percentiles of exposure were elevated (>10−5). Specifically, for inorganic arsenic in the general population, the HQ was 3.13 at the 95th percentile concentration and the cancer risk was 3.4 × 10−4 at the 50th percentile of population concentrations. These results suggest that the levels of exposure in the Canadian population to some of the environmental chemicals assessed might be of concern. The results of this screening exercise support the findings of previous risk assessments and ongoing efforts to reduce risks from exposure to chemicals evaluated as part of this study. Although paucity of biomonitoring screening values for several environmental contaminants may be a limitation to this approach, our assessment contributes to the prioritization of a number of chemicals measured as part of CHMS for follow-up activities such as more detailed characterization of exposure sources.

Plain language summary

The Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS), which was launched in 2007, collects information on Canadian's health and lifestyle by direct measurements such as blood pressure, height, weight, etc. In addition, during the last decade, over 250 chemicals were measured in biological matrices (e.g. blood and urine) in order to assess environmental exposure of the Canadian population. This study aims at interpreting these levels of environmental chemicals using screening tools in order to prioritize chemicals of concern. Biomonitoring Equivalent (BE) are used as screening tool to calculate Hazard Quotients for non-cancer endpoints as well as cancer risk associated to these level of chemicals. Results indicate that exposures of the Canadian population exceed BE for 8 of the 25 chemicals evaluated including inorganic arsenic and cadmium. This study suggests that population exposure to these chemicals could be a concern for population health and needs to be consider as a priorities for further studies. This analysis supports previous findings on these chemicals and can be useful for public health stakeholders to prioritize chemicals for further assessment.

Subject

  • Health,
  • Health and safety

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Healthy environments, consumer safety and consumer products

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