Chemical exposure : european citizens’ perspectives, trust, and concerns on human biomonitoring initiatives, information needs, and scientific results

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 18; no. 4; p. 1532
• Main Authors: Uhl, Maria, Santos, Ricardo, Costa, Joana, Santos, Osvaldo, Virgolino, Ana, Evans, David S., Murray, Cora, Mulcahy, Maurice, Ubong, Dorothy, Sepai, Ovnair, Lobo Vicente, Joana, Leitner, Michaela, Benda-Kahri, Silvia, Zanini-Freitag, Daniela
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI 05.02.2021; MDPI AG
• Subjects: Austria; Biological Monitoring; Biomonitoring; Chemical exposure; Chemicals; Citizen reflections; Community Participation; Cross-Sectional Studies; Data collection; Decision making; Drinking water; Exposure; Focus group; Focus groups; Food; Human biomonitoring; Humans; Initiatives; International policy; Ireland; Literacy; Perceptions; Policy decision making; Portugal; Public concern; Public health; Qualitative analysis; Trust; United Kingdom; United Kingdom; Austria; Portugal; Ireland; United Kingdom > UK; Europe; policy decision making; chemical exposure; human biomonitoring; citizen reflections; focus group
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18041532

Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Over the last few decades, citizen awareness and perception of chemical products has been a topic of interest, particularly concerning national and international policy decision makers, expert/scientific platforms, and the European Union itself. To date, few qualitative studies on human biomonitoring have analysed communication materials, made recommendations in terms of biomonitoring surveillance, or asked for feedback in terms of specific biomonitoring methods. This paper provides in-depth insight on citizens’ perceptions of knowledge of biomonitoring, impact of chemical exposure on daily life, and claims on how results of research should be used. Four semi-structured focus groups were held in Austria, Portugal, Ireland, and the United Kingdom (UK). The cross-sectional observational qualitative design of this study allows for better understanding of public concern regarding chemicals, application, and use of human biomonitoring. The main findings of this study include citizens’ clear articulation on pathways of exposure, the demand on stakeholders for transparent decision-making, and sensitivity in communication of results to the public. Validated and trustful communication is perceived as key to empowering citizens to take action. The results can be used to facilitate decision-making and policy development, and feeds into the awareness needs of similar and future projects in human biomonitoring. Furthermore, it also brings to light ideas and concepts of citizens’ in shaping collaborative knowledge between citizens’, experts, scientists, and policy makers on equal terms. The HBM4EU project received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 73303