The use of biomonitoring in occupational health in Portugal: evidence available and way forward

The occupational exposure to chemicals usually occurs in higher levels than for the general population, usually by inhalation and dermal absorption but inadvertent ingestion may also occur. Biomonitoring is a powerful tool to assess exposure at the individual level, thus providing additional and valuable information in comparison with air monitoring. The present review aimed to compile the biomonitoring studies performed in occupational settings in Portugal, to assess exposure to chemicals and discuss the further use of the results obtained. An extensive search was performed to identify scientific papers available in PubMed and Web of Science, reporting data of occupational studies performed in Portugal, which included biomonitoring as a tool to assess exposure to chemicals. From the twenty-five scientific papers available, it was possible to conclude that most of the biomonitoring studies developed in Portugal in the scope of occupational health aimed to characterize the exposure and to validate new biomarkers and matrices. The further use of biomonitoring data for regulatory risk assessment is scarce or absent. Therefore, several challenges are posed in this area of knowledge for the scientific community to increment the use of biomonitoring as a tool for exposure/risk assessment and risk management.