Human Biomonitoring I

This book explores human biomonitoring (HBM) as a method to evaluate chemical exposure and its related health effects, with a specific focus on short half-life chemicals and mycotoxins. This volume, together with its companion volume “Human Biomonitoring II: Levels and Toxicokinetics of Environmental and Industrial Chemicals in Blood, Urine and Breast Milk ”, provides a thorough overview of the presence of chemicals in human samples, including blood, urine, and breast milk.

The chapters in this book cover a wide range of substances, including volatile organic compounds, food-processing induced chemicals, plasticizers, personal care and consumer product chemicals, mycotoxins, and chemicals linked to smoking, vaping, and cannabis use. Each chapter provides a toxicological perspective, detailing the chemical and physical properties, usage patterns, and biological behavior of these substances in human matrices.

Together with its companion volume, both books are essential resources for researchers, scholars, and professionals in environmental health, toxicology, public health, and regulatory science. With extensive tables, figures, and reference data, both books support informed decision-making and provide practical insights into risk assessment and chemical safety in everyday life.

Author Biography

Hermann Fromme is a Professor at the Institute and Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (LMU), Germany. He started his professional career by studying social sciences at the University of Göttingen and completed his MD degree at the LMU and the Freie Universität Berlin. After holding various management positions in environmental health departments of the Berlin Senate Department for Social Affairs and Health, he was head of the Institute for Environmental Analysis and Human Toxicology in Berlin. Subsequently, Professor Fromme was head of the Department of Chemical Safety and Toxicology of the Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority. His work focuses in particular on the identification of chemicals in the environmental media and in humans as well as on the performance of health-related risk assessments. This has resulted in numerous scientific articles, particularly in the fields of exposure science, indoor air contaminants, human biomonitoring, health effects, and regulatory aspects of pollutants.