Biological monitoring (biomonitoring)

Introduction

Biological monitoring (biomonitoring) in occupational safety and health is the detection of substances (biomarkers) in biological samples of workers, compared to reference values. This article is limited to chemical exposures. Biomonitoring can help in exposure assessment of specific chemicals, characterisation of exposure pathways and potential risks. Biomarkers can detect the exposure, the effect, or reveal susceptibility. Biomonitoring may be interpreted at group or individual level. Most common media are urine and blood. While multitudes of substances can be measured, there are still only limited numbers of validated methods and limit values with…