ABSTRACT
It is now possible to measure trace levels of environmental chemicals (e.g. pesticides, metals, plasticizers, and flame retardants), their metabolites, and/or related byproducts in human fluids and tissues through a process called human biomonitoring (Albertini et al. ; Gallagher, Hubal, and Edwards ; Needham ). Though originally developed to monitor the chemical exposures of factory workers in the early s, over the past several decades, the tools and techniques used in biomonitoring have been substantially refined. What were once considered onerous procedures that produced unreliable results have become more automated with the introduction of high-throughput computer-assisted instruments. As a result, scientists can now measure more chemicals at lower concentrations with better accuracy than has previously been possible (Sexton, Needham, and Pirkle , ). However, these developments have not been met with a commensurate body of knowledge on the human health implications of chemical exposures and, as a consequence, scientists can now produce far more biomonitoring data than they know how to interpret (National Research Council ).
