Integrating science and policy in a National Human Exposure Assessment Survey

Despite tremendous progress in environmental protection over the past two decades, critical gaps remain in our understanding of actual human exposures to environmental chemicals. While the research community and the policy makers share the common goal of reducing environmental risks, it must be recognized that their information needs are often divergent. The design of effective exposure research must consider the needs and practical limitations of regulators and policy-makers and balance the often conflicting needs of policy and science. This paper examines some of the inherent conflicts between exposure research (science) and regulatory (policy) realities, and describes how the needs of policy makers were integrated into the design of a National Human Exposure Assessment Survey (NHEXAS). NHEXAS represents perhaps the most ambitious exposure surveillance effort ever undertaken. Exposure surveillance is presented as a model for bridging the gap between policy and science in the development of risk management approaches. The success of risk-based priority setting will depend upon the quality of information to support the risk assessment process. Environmental exposure surveillance will be essential to the characterization of risks and, ultimately, to the evaluation of the effectiveness of regulatory strategies.