SGOMSEC 15―Methodologies for Assessing Exposures to Metals: Speciation, Bioaccessibility, and Bioavailability in the Environment, Food, and Feed

摘要

The Scientific Group on Methodologies for the Safety Assessment of Chemicals (SGOMSEC) has its specific focus on methodologies. The choice of subject for a SGOMSEC Workshop to a large extent depends upon the central issue of clarifying methodological issues in relation to understanding chemical risks. The choice of the bioavailability of metals as the subject for this workshop has been driven by the fact that, although its importance for the management of chemical risks has been known for decades, recent advances in metal speciation and related techniques and in understanding the implications of bioavailability, for chemical risk assessment and management are requiring improved approaches. These advances have tended to overcome major stumbling blocks such as the complexity of processes, large variabilities due to the many different factors governing bioavailability, and the lack of a feasible methodology for testing. To more precisely assess the human and environmental risks of metals and to manage them more safely and with greater cost efficiency, it is timely to address the issue of metal bioavailability.