Title
A First Exploration of Health Impact Assessment of Chemical Exposure: Assigning Weights to Subclinical Effects Based on Animal Studies
Author
ter Burg, W.
Bokkers, B.G.H.
Kroese, E.D.
Schuur, A.G.
Publication year
2015
Abstract
ABSTRACT: Health impact assessments (HIA) have become an important tool for applying evidence-based policy. Recently, the concept of HIA has been introduced in the field of chemical substances. Two main issues are encountered, i.e., the focus of risk assessment is deriving safe levels and on first signs of adverse effects. These adverse effects, often at a subclinical level, fall outside the scope of a HIA. However, the number of subjects with subclinical effects can be extensive, thus relevant to consider in HIA and subsequent risk management policies and socioeconomic analyses (e.g., under REACH). The approach to include subclinical effects in a HIA relies on the dose–response relationship for toxicological endpoints, which are indicative for subclinical and clinical effects. Assessment of (sub)clinical effect sizes requires expertise from toxicologists, pathologists, and risk assessors. The clinical effect is appraised by a disability weight in the disability adjusted life year (DALY) concept. Subsequently, a derivative thereof, the severity weight, is assigned to parameter value changes in the range of subclinical effect sizes to appraise subclinical effects. Ultimately, if the approach is repeated for many substances, severity weights may be assigned based on changes in endpoints alone, making it a valuable tool for health impact assessors of chemical substances.
Subject
Life
RAPID - Risk Assessment Products in Development
ELSS - Earth, Life and Social Sciences
Biomedical Innovation
Biology
Healthy Living
Animal testing
Benchmark dose
Disability adjusted life year (DALY)
Dose–response relationship
Health impact assessment (HIA)
Subclinical effects
Animalia
To reference this document use:
http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:e67752f0-f181-4e03-9671-6f42628e0858
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/10807039.2014.929452
TNO identifier
520231
ISSN
1080-7039
Source
Human and Ecological Risk Assessment, 21 (3), 763-780
Document type
article