2023 journal article
Redefining exposure science to advance research supporting cumulative impacts, environmental justice, and decision-making
Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, 33(6), 843–845.
Contributors: N. Tulve *, A. Guiseppi-Elie*, A. Geller *, C. Ward-Caviness *, S. Paul*, E. Lavoie*, L. Rivers *, H. Frey *
open access via www.nature.com (publisher PDF)
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
(OpenAlex)
Source: ORCID
Added: February 10, 2024
Exposure science is often described as characterizing and predicting the intersection of chemical, biological, and physical agents with receptors, including individuals, geographically defined groups, and communities, in both space and time [1].However, to address today's complex scientific challenges, it is imperative that the working definition of exposure science be holistic, consistent with the concept of the exposome [2], and inclusive of the importance of non-chemical stressors (Fig. 1).Thus, the definition should characterize and predict the intersection of agents, including chemical and non-chemical stressors, with receptors in both space and time.By expanding the definition of exposure science to include non-chemical stressors, the scientific community stresses the importance of understanding how all exposures relate to health, well-being, and quality of life outcomes.Extreme weather events resulting from climate change are increasingly common and impact all communities by threatening the essential ingredients for good health, well-being, and quality of life, such as clean air, safe drinking water, and clean land.Climate change exacerbates the inequitable distribution of chemical and other non-chemical stressors that result in disproportionate exposures and greater vulnerability to already overburdened communities.Stressors include not only chemical contaminants in air, water, and land (e.g., particulates in air, perfluorinated compounds in water, metals in soil), but also nonchemical stressors (e.g., climatic stressors, relationships and social connectivity, access to resources such as health care and food stores, public infrastructure, job stability) associated with the built, natural, and social environments.Overburdened communities often contain historically marginalized groups and include "fenceline communities" that are adjacent to facilities that discharge chemicals into the environment [3][4][5][6][7][8][9].Reports published by the U.S. EPA [3], World Health Organization [10], and American Lung Association [11], amongst others, describe efforts to identify and characterize cumulative impacts that affect overburdened communities.Cumulative impacts describes the concept that health, well-being, and quality of life outcomes are dependent on a wide variety of factors that can occur concurrently and persistently in a person's life.Without