Supporting Public Health with Probabilistic Exposure Assessments (PEAs)
Decision-makers must consider both the potential hazards of, and exposure to, chemicals when protecting public health. And increasingly, they are seeking to accurately describe population-level exposures to chemicals in our diet.
What Are Probabilistic Exposure Assessments?
That’s where a series of analyses called “Probabilistic Exposure Assessments” (PEAs) comes in. These tools allow regulators and other stakeholders to combine exposure data with mathematical simulations in supporting health and environmental risk management decisions.
IAFNS-Supported Research
IAFNS Food Chemical Safety Committee supported a recent study by leading exposure assessors on PEAs that provides decision-makers with a variety of perspectives to evaluate potential exposures. PEAs are designed to support decision-making using established computer software packages.
Exposure Model Structure
The exposure models are organized based on the source of exposure that they are designed to evaluate and the duration of those exposures. They also capture the complexity of the exposure pathways, and the number of variables that are treated as probabilistic.
Barriers and Guidance
The paper reviews existing guidance on performing PEAs and identifies potential barriers to their use. The authors include suggestions on how to remove or diminish these barriers.
Join the Effort
Join IAFNS Food Chemical Safety Committee to advance quality risk assessment approaches to chemicals in our diets and support decision-makers across sectors.