[From industrial hygiene and toxicology to environmental hygiene and toxicology: problems and prospects].
BACKGROUND
Low-dose exposures to mixtures of substances have received increasing interest and they involve many different occupational and environmental situations. The presence in the population (working and general) of groups of susceptible individuals is an important public health issue that poses new challenges to science and society.


OBJECTIVE
To discuss the evolution from traditional occupational hygiene and toxicology to the new environmental (general and occupational) hygiene and toxicology.


RESULTS
Environmental hygiene and toxicology have remarkably improved analytical tools available to solve most of the analytical issues posed by the present exposure scenario. Biomarkers of low-dose exposure, early effects and individual susceptibility are being intensively investigated.


CONCLUSIONS
The challenge in this field for the coming years appears to be not the analytical but the medical and ethical implications.
Carrer
P
P
Dipartimento di Medicina del Lavoro, Università degli Studi di Milano.
Cavallo
D
D
Fustinoni
Silvia
S
Maroni
M
M
D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004782:Environmental Health; D018876:Environmental Illness / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D019550:Environmental Medicine / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends*; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D016272:Occupational Health; D009787:Occupational Medicine / Q000639:trends*; D012306:Risk
D004785:Environmental Pollutants