A discussion of exposure science in the 21st century: a vision and a strategy

Abstract

Background: The National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Sciences recently published the report Exposure Science in the 21st Century: A Vision and a Strategy. The expert committee undertaking this report included expertise from ecology, chemistry, exposure science, toxicology, public health, bioethics, engineering, medicine, and policy.

Objective: Our aim is to inform members of the scientific community in fields aligned with environmental and public health so they are more able to appreciate the full breadth of the vision and understand the framework developed in order to move the vision forward.

Discussion: Although the NRC report was commissioned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, it is solely the consensus product of the independent volunteer committee, whose findings were subject to the rigorous peer-review procedures of the NRC. In addition to reviewing the history and current status of exposure science, the report lays out a vision for the future and makes recommendations that include both short-term and long-term milestones.

Conclusion: To accomplish the vision presented in the NRC report, resources will be needed to complete studies, develop and use analyses of exposure, and build databases associated with individual and population exposures, as well as to train the next generation of exposure scientists. Important excerpts as well as paraphrased statements from the report appear in this commentary; however, the general observations and comments are our own.

Figure 1

Conceptual framework showing the core elements of exposure science as related to humans and ecosystems. Reproduced from NRC (2012) with permission from the National Academy of Sciences, courtesy of the National Academies Press.

Figure 2

A bidirectional view of the source-to-outcome continuum for exposure science. Exposure science can be applied at any level of biologic organization. Reproduced from NRC (2012) with permission from the National Academy of Sciences, courtesy of the National Academies Press.

Figure 3

The four major demands for exposure science. Reproduced from NRC (2012) with permission from the National Academy of Sciences, courtesy of the National Academies Press.

Figure 4

Selected scientific and technological advances for measuring and monitoring considered in relation to the conceptual framework presented in Figure 1. Reproduced from NRC (2012) with permission from the National Academy of Sciences, courtesy of the National Academies Press.