Application of Biomonitoring in Risk Assessment of Chemical Hazards

Risk assessment was widely used as a scientific tool around the world to evaluate the probability of human health effects resulting from chemical hazards exposure. However, limited resources increased the uncertainties in most risk assessments such as lack of human exposure and dose data. Biomonitoring was a direct way to provide human data on internal exposure and early effects for a more precise and realistic risk assessment. Many developed countries and international institutes had established biomonitoring programs and encourage applying biomonitoring data in the risk assessment process. This article addressed the definition and development of biomonitoring, depicts the use of biomonitoring in chemical risk assessment and exposure assessment, illustrates the interpretation of biomonitoring data for risk assessment, and illuminates the limitations of integration of biomonitoring data in risk assessment. In conclusion, biomonitoring has the potential to greatly improve chemical risk assessment with the accumulation of relevant data.