Skip to main content
Log in

Environmental monitoring and the development of health standards

  • Published:
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The relationship of environmental monitoring to health protection control measures is described and the monitoring programs divided into those that measure targets and those that measure factors. The models are illustrated by descriptions of Canadian programs on the monitoring of chemicals in the media-food, drinking water, and air-and the factor monitoring of a physical agent, radiation. With lead it has proved possible to combine all the monitoring data from the principal sources of human exposure and derive the received dose. Finally, the manner in which some risk acceptability decisions are developed from risk estimations of chemical and radiation is described.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. United Nations Environment Programme: 1974, Governing Counci/24.

  2. HoldgateM. W.: 1979,A Perspective of Environmental Pollution, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  3. BeharJ. V., SchuckE. A., StanleyR. E., and MorganG. B.: 1979,Environ. Sci. Technol. 13, 34.

    Google Scholar 

  4. UNEP/WHO Report of the Meeting of a Government Expert Group on Health-Related Monitoring, Geneva 1977, CEP/77.6, Geneva.

  5. Performance Measurement: 1978, Report to the House of Commons by the President of the Treasury Board, pp. 36, Treasury Board, Cat. No. BT35-4/1977, Canada.

  6. Coffin, D. E. and McKinley, W. P.: 1979,Proc. 6th Intern. Congress Food Science and Technology, Kyoto 1978 (in press).

  7. World Health Organization: 1979, Environmental Health Criteria 9,DDT and its Derivatives pp. 43, WHO, Geneva.

    Google Scholar 

  8. MahaffeyK. R., CorneliussenP. E., JelinekC. F., and FiorinoJ. A.: 1975,Environ. Health Perspectives 12, 63.

    Google Scholar 

  9. JohnsonR. D. and ManskeD. D.: 1977,Pest. Monit. J. 11, 116.

    Google Scholar 

  10. MérangerJ. C. and SmithD. C.: 1972,Can. J. Public Health 63, 53.

    Google Scholar 

  11. KirkpatrickD. C. and CoffinD. E.: 1974,Can. Inst. Food Sci. Technol. J. 7, 56.

    Google Scholar 

  12. KirkpatrickD. C. and CoffinD. E.: 1977,Can. J. Public Health 68, 162.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Méranger, J. C., Conacher, H. B. S., Cunningham, H. M., and Krewski, D.: 1980,Can. J. Public Health.

  14. Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives: 1972,Evaluation of Certain Food Additives and the Contaminants, Mercury, Lead and Cadmium, Tech. Rep. Ser. 505, WHO, Geneva.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Department of National Health and Welfare, Ottawa: 1979,Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality 1978.

  16. MérangerJ. C., SubramanianK. S., and ChalifouxC.: 1979,Environ. Sci. Technol. 13, 707.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Méranger, J. C.: 1980,The Interaction between Suspended Particles and Trace Elements in Drinking Water Supplies, M. Sc. Thesis, Carleton Univ., Ottawa.

  18. NestmannE. R., LeBelG. L., WilliamsD. T., and KowbelD. J.: 1979,Environ. Mutagenesis 1, 337.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Department of National Health and Welfare, Ottawa: 1979,National Survey for Halomethanes in Drinking Water, 77-EHD-9.

  20. MalaiyandiM., WilliamsD. T., and O'GradyR.: 1979,Environ. Sci. Technol. 13, 59.

    Google Scholar 

  21. SomersE.: 1979,Can. J. Public Health 70, 388.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Department of National Health and Welfare, Ottawa: 1978,Fluoridation in Canada as of December 31, 1976. 78-EHD-19.

  23. Department of National Health and Welfare, Ottawa: 1977,Fluoridation and Cancer, 77-EHD-18.

  24. Department of National Health and Welfare, Ottawa: 1979,National Survey for Asbestos Fibres in Canadian Drinking Water Supplies, 79-EHD-34.

  25. Air Pollution Control Directorate, Environment Canada, Ottawa: 1975,Canada's Air Pollution Control Program, Report EPS 2-AP-75-1.

  26. Air Pollution Control Directorate, Environment Canada, Ottawa: 1979,National Air Quality Trends, 1970–77, Report EPS 5-AP-78-27.

  27. WHO, Geneva: 1977,Lead, Environmental Health Criteria 3.

  28. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.: 1977,Air Quality Criteria for Lead, Report EPA-600/8-77-017.

  29. Department of National Health and Welfare, Ottawa: 1979,Environmental Radioactivity in Canada 1973–76, 79-EHD-37.

  30. Vasudev, P., Meyerhof, D. P., Taniguchi, H., and Prantl, F. A.: 1977,Environmental Radioactivity near Canadian Nuclear Reactor Sites, presented at annual conference of the Canadian Nuclear Association, Montreal, (June 1977).

  31. McGregorR. G., VasudevP., LétourneauE. G., McCulloughR. S., PrantlF. A., and TaniguchiH.: 1980,Health Physics 39, 285.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Létourneau, E. G., McGregor, R. G. and Taniguchi, H.: 1978,Surveillance de Radon Monitoring, NEA Meeting, Nov. 1978, 167, OECD, Paris.

  33. KatesR. W.: 1978,Risk Assessment of Environmental Hazard, SCOPE 8, John Wiley, Chichester.

    Google Scholar 

  34. National Academy of Sciences and National Research Council: 1972, 1977,The effects on populations of exposure to low levels of ionizing radiation, BEIR Reports, Washington.

  35. Hamilton, L. D.: 1979,Health effects of electricity generation, Conference Health Effects of Energy Production, Chalk River, (Sept. 1979).

  36. WhyteA. V. and BurtonI.: 1980,Environmental Risk Assessment, SCOPE 15, John Wiley, Chichester.

    Google Scholar 

  37. PochinE. E.: 1975,Br. Med. Bull. 31, 184.

    Google Scholar 

  38. Wilson, R.: 1978, Testimony for OSHA Hearings, Washington (February 1978).

  39. PochinE. E.: 1978, Why be Quantitative about Radiation Risk Estimates?’, Lecture No. 2, the Lauriston S. Taylor Lecture Series in Radiation Protection and Measurements, National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, Washington, D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  40. CohenB. L. and I-SingLee: 1979,Health Physics 36, 707–722.

    Google Scholar 

  41. AMA Council on Scientific Affairs: 1979,JAMA 240, 2193.

    Google Scholar 

  42. Canad. Occup.Health Safety News 4 (September 3, 1979).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Somers, E. Environmental monitoring and the development of health standards. Environ Monit Assess 1, 7–19 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00836872

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00836872

Keywords

Navigation