(AGENPARL) – OTTAWA (CANADA), mer 16 dicembre 2020
December 2020
The Government of Canada is releasing new data from the national biomonitoring program with results from the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS). The Report on Human Biomonitoring of Environmental Chemicals in Pooled Samples provides results for chemicals that are otherwise difficult to quantify in individual samples due to their low detection levels, the small blood volume available and the high cost of analysis. These latest results add important new knowledge to our understanding of Canadians’ exposure to chemicals. More information on the data released can be found here.
The national biomonitoring program conducted as part of the Canadian Health Measures Survey is an important part of the Government’s actions on chemicals and informs federal actions under the Chemicals Management Plan (CMP).
Biomonitoring data from the CHMS provide reliable information that governments and all Canadians can use to better understand our levels of exposure to various chemicals. They are also used by researchers and the Government of Canada to:
- track increases or decreases of detectable chemical levels in Canadians over time;
- conduct comparative analyses among subpopulations in Canada and with other countries;
- assess the effectiveness of actions the Government takes to reduce exposure and health risks from specific chemicals;
- initiate research on the potential links between exposure to certain chemicals and specific health effects, as needed; and
- contribute to international monitoring programs.
More information on how these data are used in risk assessments under the CMP is available here.
Currently, the pooled serum results from the CHMS have been released as summary data and any immediate conclusions based on this information would be premature.
It is important to note that the presence of a chemical in a person’s body does not necessarily mean that it will affect their health. Factors such as the amount to which a person is exposed, the duration and timing of exposure and the toxicity of the chemical are important to consider when determining whether adverse health effects may occur.
More information, including actions the Government has taken to protect the health of Canadians, can be found in Health Canada’s Report on Human Biomonitoring of Environmental Chemicals in Pooled Samples and by searching the chemicals by name on Canada.ca.
