Toxic Ignorance and the Right to Know
Toxic Ignorance and the Right to Know
Biomonitoring Results Communication: A Survey of Scientists and Study Participants
This chapter explores the ethical and scientific challenges of communicating results to communities and study participants in biomonitoring studies, which measure the presence and concentrations of chemicals and their metabolites in human tissues. Technological advances have made biomonitoring studies more common, but often scientists are faced with dilemmas regarding whether and how to report results to participants when the health implications of chemical exposures are not well understood. The chapter identifies three frameworks for reporting such data: traditional clinical ethics, community-based participatory research, and citizen science “data judo.” The first approach emphasizes reporting results only when the health significance of exposures is known, whereas the other two represent new communication strategies in which study participants are engaged in interpreting, disseminating, and applying results to promote community health. The chapter then suggests five critical considerations for planning future biomonitoring studies.
Keywords: biomonitoring studies, study participants, scientists, traditional clinical ethics, community-based research, participatory research, citizen science, community health
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