Skip Navigation Links
Bioavailability - Metals
Internet-based seminar
Hosted by U.S. EPA

The Superfund Basic Research Program (SBRP), in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Technology Innovation Program, presents the 2008 edition of RiskeLearning: "Bioavailability - Metals, Organics, and Policy". This series of online seminars will focus on the science and policy issues of incorporating bioavailability into risk and exposure assessments. Largely drawing from the successful SBRP Bioavailability Workshop: "Assessing Bioavailability as a Determinant of Pollutant Exposure" held in Tampa, FL (February 2008), the web seminar series will feature SBRP-funded and other academic researchers and EPA senior staff.

This, the first of three sessions, will feature Dr. Dominic Di Toro, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Delaware and Dr. Nicholas Basta, Professor, Soil and Environmental Chemistry, Ohio State University.

Understanding and quantifying metal bioavailability is of central importance in performing scientifically sound risk assessments. Dr. Di Toro will review available models - the Free Ion Activity Model, the Biotic Ligand Model and Equilibrium Partitioning - and supporting data for water column, sediments and soils and will present example applications to human health in his presentation titled "Environmental Control of Metal Bioavailability".

Incidental soil ingestion is an important exposure pathway for assessing public health risks associated with contaminated soils. The bioavailability of Pb (lead), As (arsenic), and possibly other contaminants in soils can be determined by conducting dosing trials using acceptable surrogate animal models. To overcome the difficulty and expense associated with in vivo trials, in vitro gastrointestinal (IVG) methods, that simulate human gastrointestinal conditions, have been developed. The science of contaminant bioaccessibility has matured and several IVG methods have been reported. Dr. Basta will present data gaps, uncertainties and research needed to apply IVG methods to contaminated sites in his presentation titled "Assessing Contaminant Human (Bio)availability in Soil with In Vitro Gastrointestinal: Uncertainties, Data Gaps, and Research Needs".

The session will be moderated by Dr. Claudia L. Thompson, Acting Director of SBRP at NIEHS. For general information contact Justin Crane by telephone at 919 794-4702
 Upcoming Events

 No upcoming events.

Archives of past CLU-IN internet seminars are available in the CLU-IN Studio at http://clu-in.org/studio/. You will be able to view the slide and hear an audio stream of the presentation as it occurred.Image denoting link exits Trainex system

Previous Events (click to view/hide)
Comments      Privacy and Security Notice
Logo for USA.gov website