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Brenda K. Weis,¹ David Balshaw,¹ John R. Barr,² David Brown,³ Mark Ellisman,⁴ Paul Lioy,⁵ Gilbert Omenn,⁶ John D. Potter,⁷ Martyn T. Smith,⁸ Lydia Sohn,⁹ William A. Suk,¹ Susan Sumner,¹⁰ James Swenberg,¹¹ David R. Walt,¹² Simon Watkins,¹³ Claudia Thompson,¹ and Samuel H. Wilson³

¹Division of Extramural Research and Training, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA; ²Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; ³Office of the Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA; ⁴Department of Neuroscience, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA; ⁵Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey at Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; ⁶Schools of Medicine and Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; ⁷Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA; ⁸School of Public Health and ⁹Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA; ¹⁰Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA; ¹¹Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; ¹²Department of Chemistry, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, USA; ¹³Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Abstract
New technologies and methods for assessing human exposure to chemicals, dietary and lifestyle factors, infectious agents, and other stressors provide an opportunity to extend the range of human health investigations and advance our understanding of the relationship between environmental exposure and disease. An ad hoc Committee on Environmental Exposure Technology Development was convened to identify new technologies and methods for deriving personalized exposure measurements for application to environmental health studies. The committee identified a "toolbox" of methods for measuring external (environmental) and internal (biologic) exposure and assessing human behaviors that influence the likelihood of exposure to environmental agents. The methods use environmental sensors, geographic information systems, biologic sensors, toxicogenomics, and body burden (biologic) measurements. We discuss each of the methods in relation to current use in human health research ; specific gaps in the development, validation, and application of the methods are highlighted. We also present a conceptual framework for moving these technologies into use and acceptance by the scientific community. The framework focuses on understanding complex human diseases using an integrated approach to exposure assessment to define particular exposure-disease relationships and the interaction of genetic and environmental factors in disease occurrence. Improved methods for exposure assessment will result in better means of monitoring and targeting intervention and prevention programs. Key words: body burden, epidemiology, exposure, exposure assessment, exposure technology, geographic information systems, GIS, sensors. Environ Health Perspect 113:840-848 (2005) . doi:10.1289/ehp.7651 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 3 March 2005]

Address correspondence to B.K. Weis, NIEHS/DERT, P.O. Box 12233, MD EC-27, 111 TW Alexander Dr., Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 USA Telephone: (919) 541-4964. Fax: (919) 541-4937. E-mail: weis@niehs.nih.gov

We thank A.P. Sassaman for her careful review of the manuscript.

The authors declare they have no competing financial interests.

Received 9 October 2004 ; accepted 3 March 2005.

Correction
In the last paragraph of "Exposure Assessment Methods," the authors added information about the benefit of adopting a disease-first approach to exposure assessment.