Human exposure assessment: a graduate level course
Lioy, P.J.
Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology 1(3): 271-281
1991
ISSN/ISBN: 1053-4245 PMID: 1824319 Document Number: 381186
The course has been offered three times. The content and the approach to each lecture has evolved after each time it was given. This is not unexpected since the field has been undergoing major transformations, and new approaches to measurement and modeling are being applied to current problems. The most recent student evaluation, 1990, indicates a difficulty rating of "just right" (70%) to "difficult" (30%). Most felt the course stimulated their interest in the topic (72%) and the examinations were learning experiences as well as a grading exercise. The major need for the discipline is an adequate text book. The GRAPE program has excellent potential as an educational took, but it needs to make more interactions and allow introduction of activities and data. The major strengths of the course are the problems provided to the students for homework. These give the student quantitative perspective on the concepts, range in values, variables, and uncertainties necessary to complete an assessment. In addition, the development of the mathematical and conceptional continuum for placing exposure assessment in the context of toxicology, environmental science, epidemiology, and clinical intervention provides a basic framework for the discipline.