[To join the working group, please first become a member at the Global ISES organization.  During the membership process, be sure to select the Europe Chapter to join the Europe Chapter Working Groups.]

Exposure data production: Human data — An Exposure Science Tool for Exposure and Risk Assessment

The “Exposure data Production: Human Biomonitoring (HBM)” Working Group, part of the European Chapter of the International Society of Exposure Science (hereafter ISES Europe HBM WG) focuses significantly on using HBM as a key approach for enhancing our understanding of chemical exposures and their impact on human health. This group prioritizes HBM as a fundamental method to accurately assess and interpret the interaction between environmental chemicals and human health, thereby advancing the field of exposure science.

Our mission is to support generation of high-quality HBM data and metadata, and to enhance their use and acceptance both in environmental and occupational health policy domains, as well as in industry and regulatory risk assessment processes. We are committed to pioneering innovative solutions and actively promoting collaboration among scientist, industry, policy makers and funding bodies.

The ISES Europe HBM WG is structured around three strategic pillars to fulfill its mission (Figure 1).

The first pillar focuses on enabling international engagement and collaboration. Specifically, it aims to build a global network of skilled experts, offering mentoring, peer-support, and collaboration opportunities. This approach promotes inclusiveness and enhances member recognition and visibility.

The second pillar focuses on advancing scientific excellence, supported by three objectives: (1) proactively pursuing impactful scientific content, (2) supporting the development and application of guidance, methods, and tools to enhance the use of HBM, and (3) fostering connectivity across scientific disciplines. This includes raising awareness of exposure science and promoting its use as a key approach in exposure assessment tools across other disciplines. The third pillar emphasizes enhancing knowledge transfer for evidence-based policies. We envision HBM WG as a knowledge translation hub, effectively communicating scientific advancements to broad and diverse audiences and, most importantly, leveraging data for evidence-based policies and regulations, where HBM can play a crucial role.

The primary function of HBM involves establishing a network of multidisciplinary experts. This network includes professionals from various fields such as exposure science, environmental and occupational epidemiology, molecular epidemiology, occupational hygiene, biology, analytical chemistry, risk assessment, toxicology, as well as policy makers and specialists from European Agencies like EFSA, ECHA, EEA, among others. The goal is to foster interaction, collaboration, and the integration of knowledge across these diverse scientific disciplines. In addition, this working group seeks collaboration with other Human Biomonitoring (HBM) initiatives sponsored by the European Union such as the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) project EIRENE(https://www.eirene-ri.eu/), which stands for Research Infrastructure for Environmental Exposure Assessment in Europe, and the PARC(https://www.eu-parc.eu/) initiative, short for the Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals contributing to a safer and healthier environment in Europe.

The ISES Europe HBM WG was established with a European focus, yet its vision and activities resonate with the global need for harmonized HBM, contributing to international collaboration and shared standards. Recognizing that chemical exposures transcend borders with potential impacts on human health, the WG has taken a proactive role in fostering international collaboration. This includes the establishment of the HBM Global Network, a dedicated initiative (or coalition) that connects experts, projects, and institutions worldwide to advance data quality, comparability, and policy relevance in HBM.

As highlighted in our recently published strategy paper Developing human biomonitoring as a 21st century toolbox within the European exposure science strategy 2020–2030, the HBM Working Group outlines 6 key strategic objectives (SO) to enhance the quality and use of HBM:

This working group comprises six subgroups, collaboratively striving to achieve two primary objectives: generating High-Quality HBM (Human Biomonitoring) (meta)data and Improved Regulatory Integration and Utilization of HBM Data. The subgroups are as follows:

Join the ISES Europe HBM Working Group to be part of a dynamic community shaping the future of HBM. Engage in groundbreaking discussions and contribute to the advancement of human biomonitoring techniques. If you have a topic related to human biomonitoring that you’d like to bring to the attention of our working group, we’d love to hear from you! Please feel free to contact us and share your ideas.