Exposure to Chemicals and Health Effects in Occupational and Everyday Settings

Dear Colleagues,

Data from the WHO underline the fact that in 2019, more than 53 million disabilities worldwide were estimated to have resulted from chemical exposure, and in Europe in particular, 269.500 deaths could be attributed to this type of exposure.

At present, there is a large and growing number of chemicals in use, many of which are harmful to human health. People are potentially exposed to multiple chemicals on a daily basis from the environment, drinking water, food, and consumer products, as well as from their workplaces. The many systems of an organism, which include respiratory, reproductive, cardiovascular, urinary, nervous, immune, and metabolic systems, are significantly affected by chemicals, both acutely and chronically. Conditions ranging from allergies to cancer are also possible consequences of chemical exposure.

Occupational exposure to hazardous chemicals is a highly researched area of study, both in response to regulatory demands and, above all, in efforts to protect worker health. New substances are often introduced into production cycles; consequently, it is necessary to continually monitor exposure and understand the possible health risks. These risks are not only associated with workplaces, as exposure can also occur in living environments. In fact, evidence shows that children are especially vulnerable to the effects of exposure to chemicals.

Therefore, assessing health risks due to exposure to chemicals is an essential requirement not only in the workplace but also in living environments. Biomonitoring makes it possible to assess exposure by quantifying dose biomarkers in biological fluids and in subjects without occupational exposure, taking into account the biological variability of the population studied and other factors such as residence and lifestyle. Additionally, is also important to assess health effects by measuring biomarkers of effect, which are used to assess the effects of exposure to risk agents, including exposure to mixtures, by comparing the levels found with those of controls in order to identify risk situations and, thus, prevent occupational disease.

This Special Issue aims to collect studies on both work-related exposure and everyday life conditions that can investigate exposure levels to chemicals, new analytical monitoring methods, new evidence of health risks, and investigations to assist in the understanding of exposure-related conditions and effects.

Dr. Lidia Caporossi
Dr. Daniela Pigini
Guest Editors

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• chemicals
• workplaces
• workers
• exposure
• toxicity
• methods
• daily life