Abstract
The International Society for Exposure Analysis (ISEA) and its Nomenclature Committee have been involved since the mid-1990s in an intermittent but ongoing effort to develop an official ISEA glossary. Several related activities have stimulated greater interest and discussion nationally and internationally on a common exposure language. Among these activites are a 1997 Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology feature article on exposure and dose definitions and a 1999-initiated project of the International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS) (WHO/ILO/UNEP) to confront terminology issues hindering harmonization in the area of exposure assessment. Recently, the ISEA members voted in support of adopting the IPCS glossary as the official ISEA glossary, and the ISEA Executive Board agreed to accept this recommendation. In this feature article, we (1) describe the process through which the ISEA adopted the IPCS glossary as the official ISEA glossary, (2) present the joint IPCS/ISEA glossary of terms and their definitions, and (3) discuss plans for how the glossary can be used by ISEA and updated over time by ISEA and IPCS. The glossary is intended to be a living document that reflects the latest usage and maintains international harmonization of exposure terminology that can be practically applied to improve communication in exposure and related fields.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Relevant articles
Open Access articles citing this article.
-
A qualitative characterization of meso-activity factors to estimate soil exposure for agricultural workers
Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology Open Access 17 October 2022
-
Exposure modelling in Europe: how to pave the road for the future as part of the European Exposure Science Strategy 2020–2030
Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology Open Access 02 August 2022
-
Towards further harmonization of a glossary for exposure science—an ISES Europe statement
Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology Open Access 02 November 2021
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 6 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $43.17 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Callahan M.A., Jayewardene R., Norman C., Zartarian V., Dinovi M., Graham J., Hammerstrom K., Olin S., and Sonich-Mullin C. International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS) Project on the Harmonization of Risk Assessment Approaches: Exposure Assessment Terminology. Paper No. 273 presented at the 11th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Exposure Analysis, Charleston, SC, 6 November, 2001.
Hammerstrom K., Sonich-Mullin C., Olin S., Jantunen M., Jayewardene R., Norman C., Beauchamp R., Callahan M., Dinovi M., Graham J., Guiseppe-Ellie A., Heinemeyer G., Kohrman K., Özkaynak H., Younes M., and Zartarian V. International Programme on Chemical Safety' (2001) Project on the Harmonization of Risk Assessment Approaches: Exposure Related Activities. 11th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Exposure Analysis, Charleston, SC, 4–8 November, 2001.
IPCS. Glossary of exposure assessment-related terms: a compilation. Prepared by the Exposure Terminology Subcommittee of the IPCS Exposure Assessment Planning Workgroup for the International Programme on Chemical Safety, Harmonization of Approaches to the Assessment of Risk from Exposure to Chemicals, 1 November, 2001.
IPCS. Harmonization of Approaches to the Assessment of Risk from Exposure to Chemicals. International Programme on Chemical Safety Harmonization Project, Exposure Assessment Planning Workgroup, Terminology Subcommittee, December, 2002.
McKone T.E., and Bahadori T. Exposure Terminology Workshop: Toward Adopting An Official Glossary For The ISEA. Session WS-13. An Interactive Workshop at the 13th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Exposure Analysis Annual Meeting, 21–25 September, 2003, Stresa, Italy, Conference and Session Program available at http://www.ktl.fi/isea2003/programframe.html.
WHO. IPCS Risk Assessment Terminology. Harmonization Project Document No. 1 ISBN 92 4 156267 6, WHO Document Production Services, Geneva, Switzerland, 2004.
Zartarian V.G., Ott W.R., and Duan N. Feature article: a quantitative definition of exposure and related concepts. J Expos Anal Environ Epidemiol 1997: 7(4): 411–438.
Acknowledgements
The IPCS/ISEA glossary was developed by the members of the International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS), Harmonization Project, Exposure Assessment Planning Workgroup, Terminology Subcommittee:
Mr.
Michael Callahan, Region 6, U.S. EPA
Dr.
Michael DiNovi, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Dr.
Judith Graham, International Council of Chemical Associations
Ms.
Karen Hammerstrom, National Center for Environmental Assessment, U.S. EPA
Dr.
Roshini Jayewardene, National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme, Australia
Ms.
Christine Norman, Pest Management Regulatory Agency, Health Canada
Dr.
Steve Olin, International Life Sciences Institute, Washington, DC
Ms.
Cynthia Sonich-Mullin, National Center for Environmental Assessment, U.S. EPA
Dr.
Dr Yiqun Wu, Chinese Institute of Preventive Medicine
Dr.
Valerie Zartarian, National Exposure Research Laboratory, U.S. EPA
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This paper has been approved for publication by the authors' respective institutions; however, it does not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or opinions of those institutions.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zartarian, V., Bahadori, T. & McKone, T. Adoption of an official ISEA glossary. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 15, 1–5 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jea.7500411
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jea.7500411
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Characterizing surface water concentrations of hundreds of organic chemicals in United States for environmental risk prioritization
Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology (2023)
-
A qualitative characterization of meso-activity factors to estimate soil exposure for agricultural workers
Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology (2023)
-
Exposure forecasting – ExpoCast – for data-poor chemicals in commerce and the environment
Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology (2022)
-
Towards further harmonization of a glossary for exposure science—an ISES Europe statement
Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology (2022)
-
Exposure modelling in Europe: how to pave the road for the future as part of the European Exposure Science Strategy 2020–2030
Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology (2022)