As part of the EU-funded INTARESE project, which contributed to the development of this Toolbox, a series of case studies were undertaken, aimed at exploring and illustrating the use of human biomonitoring data in integrated environmental health impact assessment.  Summaries of the findings are given below, and links to more information are provided.

Data availability 

Setting up an HBM study is logistically, financially and scientifically challenging.  Integrated impact assessments, however, need to provide results relatively swiftly, and are usually severely constrained in terms of resources.  They therefore need to make use of readily available data.  The case-study on blood-lead concentrations showed that it is feasible to collect and use data from previous studies, and illustrates how this can be done. (Follow link to a description of the study here).    

Describing the dose-effect continuum  

One of the major advantages of human biomonitoring data is that they can provide consistent information spanning the links between exposure, intake, dose and health effect.  A case-study on PAH exposure, simultaneously performed in Flanders and the Czech Republic, showed how combination of methods, ranging from emission modeling, through the use of biomarkers of exposure, to application of effect-markers can enhance understanding of the health impacts of road traffic (follow link to Exploring the full-chain approach for PAHs using 2 case studies in Flanders and the Czech Republic).

Identifying appropriate health outcomes 

In a health impact assessment, the choice of the health endpoints has a crucial effect on the outcome of the assessment.  A case-study on PCBs showed how benchmark dose modelling may be useful to identify the most sensitive endpoints  (follow link to The Benchmark dose (BMD) approach for health effects of PCB exposure).