The Exposure Concept

Overview

Exposure assessment dates back at least to the early twentieth century, and perhaps before, particularly in the fields of epidemiology, industrial hygiene, and health physics (Armstrong et al., 1991; Lioy PJ, 1990; EPA, 1992; WHO, 2000). Exposure assessment is a key component of the public health evaluation of diseases since it is often hypothesis-driven research that seeks to determine health effects of exposure to various harmful agents. In the context of assessing health effects of disaster and bioterrorism, conducting exposure assessment is a must.

Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

• Explain the concept of exposure including:
  • Exposure intensity
  • Exposure frequency
  • Exposure duration
  • Microenvironment, exposure pathways, and exposure routes
• Differentiate among exposure, applied dose, potential dose, internal dose, and biologically effective dose
• Identify an appropriate exposure assessment approach, choosing between point-of-contact measurement, scenario evaluation, and reconstruction