The number of chemicals entering the US marketplace continues to escalate. Many of these chemicals have not been tested for their effect on human and environmental chemicals. If you need to know what chemicals are being introduced and/or tested, the Center for Disease Control provides a starting point for your research.
The National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals (National Exposure Report) is a series of ongoing assessments of the U.S. population's exposure to environmental chemicals by measuring chemicals in people's blood and urine, also called biomonitoring.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s Environmental Health Laboratory at the National Center for Environmental Health has measured chemicals or their metabolites in blood and urine from a random sample of participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
The Fourth National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals (Fourth Report) presents exposure data for 212 environmental chemicals for the civilian, noninstitutionalized U.S. population. This Fourth Report includes results from 2003-2004, and more.
The Fourth Report includes results for 75 chemicals measured for the first time in the U.S. population. These chemicals are in the following groups:
- acrylamide and glycidamide adducts;
- arsenic species and metabolites;
- environmental phenols, including bisphenol A and triclosan;
- perchlorate;
- perfluorinated chemicals;
- polybrominated diphenyl ethers;
- volatile organic compounds; and
- some additions to chemical groups previously measured.
A complete listing of the 75 new chemicals and the full listing of the chemicals included in the Fourth Report is available at www.cdc.gov.
The toxicity of a chemical is related to its dose or concentration, in addition to a person's individual susceptibility. Small amounts may be of no health consequence, whereas larger amounts may cause adverse health effects.
Research studies, separate from the National Exposure Report, are required to determine the levels of a chemical that may cause health effects and the levels that are not a significant health concern. For some chemicals, such as lead, research studies provide a good understanding of health risks associated with various blood levels.
For most of the environmental chemicals included in the Fourth Report, more research is needed to determine whether exposure at the levels reported is a cause for health concern. CDC conducts and provides biomonitoring measurements for this type of research in collaboration with other agencies and institutions.