WBEA has taken the initiative to conduct an ongoing Human Exposure Monitoring Program (HEMP) to continuously monitor select air contaminants individuals are exposed to in their everyday environments. This is the first long term human exposure monitoring program (conducted at the community level) in the world. HEMP is volunteer based with the volunteer responsibilities being as follows:

• Complete a screening survey and consent form.
• Wear two types of personal air monitoring equipment at all times.
• Allow additional air monitoring equipment to be set up inside and outside the home.
• Complete a time activity diary.
• Complete a demographic, exposure, and health survey.
• Replace battery-operated monitors with new batteries.

HEMP Program Design - Part 1
HEMP Program Design - Part 2

Objectives of HEMP

• Examine the relationship between concentrations of selected air contaminants in personal, indoor, and outdoor air.
• Examine the factors affecting human exposure to air contaminants.
• Determine any trends in air contaminant levels that people of Wood Buffalo are exposed to in their everyday environments.
• Trends could be used to assist in establishing links between air quality and its potential health related effects.
• Data collected from the program may also aid in future research and the development of other programs in the region.

Why conduct long term human exposure monitoring?

• Relying on stationary, outdoor, ambient air monitoring stations is not a good indicator of personal exposure.
• There is a need to begin to recognize humans as important bio-receptors.
• To obtain measures of what humans are actually exposed to in their daily environment.
• To continue to examine the relationships between personal, indoor, and outdoor air within individual’s everyday environments.