Second National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals
Introduction: Overview
The National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals provides an ongoing assessment of the U.S. population’s exposure to environmental chemicals using biomonitoring. The first National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals (First Report) was issued in March 2001. This Second Report, released in January 2003, presents biomonitoring exposure data for 116 environmental chemicals for the noninstitutionalized, civilian U.S. population over the 2-year period 1999-2000.
Chemicals and their metabolites were measured in blood and urine samples from selected participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted by CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. NHANES is a series of surveys designed to collect data on the health and nutritional status of the U.S. population.
For this Report, an environmental chemical means a chemical compound or chemical element present in air, water, soil, dust, or other environmental media (e.g., consumer products). Biomonitoring is the assessment of human exposure to chemicals by measuring the chemicals or their metabolites in human specimens such as blood or urine. A metabolite is the chemical alteration of the original compound by body tissues. Blood and urine levels reflect the amount of the chemical in the environment that actually gets into the body.
The first Report presented exposure data for 27 chemicals from NHANES 1999; this Second Report presents exposure data for 116 chemicals (including the 27 in the first Report) from NHANES 1999-2000. The Second Report also presents exposure data for the U.S. population divided into age, gender, and race/ethnicity groups.
The first Report measured lead, mercury, cadmium, and other metals; dialkyl phosphate metabolites of organophosphate pesticides; cotinine; and phthalates. The Second Report includes these chemicals and adds
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
Dioxins, furans, and coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
Non-coplanar PCBs
Phytoestrogens
Selected organophosphate pesticides
Organochlorine pesticides
Carbamate pesticides
Herbicides
Pest repellents and disinfectants
See also:
Toxic Releases and Health: A Review of Pollution Data and Current Knowledge on the Health Effects of Toxic Chemicals.
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