Guidance on use of biomonitoring in incidents

To assess exposure following chemical incidents, samples can be taken, where appropriate and feasible, from the general public living in the vicinity of the incident and/or from people at direct risk of exposure e.g. those involved in the incident. Initial work, carried out by The Laboratory Review and Liaison Group (LRLG), has focussed on investigating and developing standardised protocols for the collection, transport and analysis of samples from individuals suspected of being exposed.

The protocols are designed to accompany information on the chemical in the Compendium of Chemical Hazards and have been developed to assist health professionals to assess the value and utility of human biomonitoring in particular situations. This is because biomonitoring is not always appropriate and in some situations will not provide relevant information on exposures. It is therefore important to establish when it will be of most use and when it should be used. If any health parameters are measured at the time of an incident it may be possible to combine these with the biomonitoring data to investigate any possible acute (immediate) health effects associated with the incident.

The most suitable kind of sample, time of sampling and storage/transport requirements differs for each chemical. For example, some can only be measured in blood, while saliva and urine provide better results for others. For some chemicals, samples must be taken immediately, while others remain in the body for longer and so can still be detected several days after exposure.  For some of the chemicals, biomonitoring is not possible, due to a lack of effective markers of exposure or the chemical not being measurable in human samples. This is clearly stated in the protocol. A sampling kit for use by emergency services and health professionals involved in chemical incident response has also been produced.
 
Read more about the Protocols
 

Last reviewed: 12 July 2011