Exposure science

Exposure science is the study of the contact of humans and other organisms with harmful agents within their environment – whether it be chemical, physical, biological or mental stressors – with the aim of identifying both the causes and preventions of the adverse health effects they result in.[1]

It is an expanding field, ranging from ultraviolet exposure, exposure to chemicals in the food we eat, to exposure to long working hours being the occupational factor most attributable to the burden of disease.[2][3] Though studies mainly explore the relationship between external exposure, internal exposure and dose (the amount required to cause harmful effects), the usefulness of exposure science comes from it tightly integrating the fields of epidemiology, toxicology, biochemistry, environmental science and risk assessment in order to holistically comprehend how to protect both human and ecosystem health from exposure on individual, community and global levels.[2]