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

Maria Uhl*, Ricardo R. Santos, Joana Costa, Osvaldo Santos, Ana Virgolino, David S. Evans, Cora Murray, Maurice Mulcahy, Dorothy Ubong, Ovnair Sepai, Joana Lobo Vicente, Michaela Leitner, Silvia Benda-Kahri, Daniela Zanini-Freitag

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

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.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1532
Pages (from-to)1-17
Number of pages17
JournalInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Volume18
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Feb 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Funding: The HBM4EU project received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 733032.

Funding Information:
The HBM4EU project received funding from the European Union?s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 733032. We are particularly grateful for the administrative support from our institutions and the representatives of citizens, who spent valuable time in focus groups and contributed to our research project. We would also like to thank Marike Kolossa-Gehring, from the German Environment Agency, coordinator of HBM4EU, for her valuable advice in this publication.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Keywords

  • Chemical exposure
  • Citizen reflections
  • Focus group
  • Human biomonitoring
  • Policy decision making

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