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Supporting the Responsible and Appropriate Use of Biomonitoring

CSPA supports the responsible and appropriate use of biomonitoring information in risk assessment in creating public policy. Biomonitoring is the measurement of human exposure to specific substances through an analysis of human bodily tissues or fluids. Human bodies absorb trace amounts of many substances from the surrounding environment. Increasingly advanced technology allows researchers to identify and measure their exact concentrations of these substances in the body. Both natural and man-made substances can be identified through biomonitoring. Substances created in the body, as well as substances we eat, breathe, or have contact with, including chemicals found in consumer products, can be detected. A national biomonitoring program being conducted by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been reporting results for several years.

The intricate relationship between biomonitoring and human health, including its limitations, must be properly understood to avoid misinterpretation of results. Accurately interpreted, biomonitoring has many positive uses. Data can establish average exposure levels and measure trends in those levels over time, as well as compare data across subgroups like age, sex, or ethnicity. Biomonitoring (or medical surveillance) has been widely used to assess occupational exposures and determine action limits. Biomonitoring information can also be used to establish priorities for additional scientific research.

There are limitations on what biomonitoring data can confirm. Data gathered from biomonitoring cannot confirm the source of an exposure, how long the substance has been present in a body or what effect, if any, the substance has on human health. The CDC warns, “Just because people have an environmental chemical in their blood or urine does not mean that the chemical causes disease.”

Without being presented in the proper context, data simply confirming the presence of a chemical in the body could create unwarranted fear among consumers and unnecessary regulation of consumer products. Some advocacy groups have conducted their own biomonitoring studies, sensationalized the results, attempted to link the detection of any chemical to chronic diseases in humans, and created programs that would ban or restrict chemicals based solely on the ability to detect them via biomonitoring. There is an emerging state trend to implement biomonitoring programs which would provide chemical exposure data to regulators and public health officials.

CSPA opposes the use of biomonitoring to attempt to erroneously link consumer products to negative health effects and place undue restrictions on chemicals or products without cause. CSPA also has concerns with biomonitoring programs that unnecessarily duplicate ongoing federal programs. CSPA will continue to be actively involved in biomonitoring proposals to ensure that biomonitoring data is used appropriately and in the proper context.