Read the full article by Yaw Edu Essandoh (The Conversation).
“Every morning, people fasten their watch, slip on a bracelet and head out the door without thinking much about what they might encounter along the way. The air they breathe, the dust on their hands and the surfaces they touch all feel ordinary. Yet many chemical exposures happen quietly, without smell, taste or warning.
What if something as simple as a silicone band around your wrist could help track those invisible exposures?
Environmental monitoring has traditionally relied on snapshots of exposure from a water sample collected on a single day, a blood sample drawn at one point in time, or soil tested from a specific location. But exposure unfolds gradually as people move through different environments and come into contact with air, dust and surfaces throughout the day.
New noninvasive monitoring tools aim to capture that longer-term picture.
As synthetic chemicals such as ‘forever chemicals,’ known as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), become more widespread in everyday environments, scientists are increasingly focused on understanding how exposure to these substances occurs in daily life.”…