Lightweight simple wristbands
The best way to measure a single person's actual environmental exposure is by having something, on that individual, record everything that happens as that person moves through the day. Ideally any such device is portable, non-intrusive, capable of working (and being comfortable for the wearer) while she is sleeping, jogging, eating, swimming, or reading a book. Traditional methods employed to measure the environment are either mounted in a single place (stationary grab method) or contain electronic elements including air pumps and filters which make for an ungainly apparatus or are otherwise unnatural and unfamiliar to the broad market especially when used on a 24x7 basis.
The MyExposome solution is a simple lightweight silicone wristband, instantly familiar and comfortable, which can be worn for 1 day, 1 week or 1 month by any individual: a child, an office worker, a mechanic, a pilot, a member of the Armed Forces, etc. That wristband then records the exposure of the individual to a wide variety of important chemical compounds, thereby informing that person, and society-at-large, about the presence or absence of critical chemical exposures in every tested individuals environment.
WRISTBANDS CAN TEST FOR MANY THINGS AT ONCE
Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs):
EDCs are compounds that may interfere with functions of the endocrine system. Some compounds in our tests include nonylphenol, Bisphenol A, and several phthalates in addition to other suspected EDCs mentioned below in the PCB, flame retardant, and pesticide categories.
Consumer and Personal Care Products:
These include compounds that are commonly found in perfumes, dyes, soaps, cleaning products, or foodstuffs. Examples include tonalide, triclosan, eugenol, caffeine and many others.
PAHs/opahs:
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are petrogenic (fossil fuel-based), pyrogenic (combustion-based) sources and/or oxygenated PAHs (OPAHs). They are either originally from oil or burnt material or from PAHs that have degraded in the environment. PAHs are components that drive much of the remediation at gas and oil contaminated sites throughout the world. Since they’re from combustion sources basically anything that is burning, from forest fires to cigarette smoke, is a source of PAHs. PAHs include some compounds that are known or suspected carcinogens.
PCBs:
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) describe a broad family of man-made compounds manufactured from 1929 until 1979. They were made to be very stable, non-flammable, and to have electrical insulating properties. PCBs were used in an incredible array of products, from electrical and hydraulic applications to additives in paints, plastics, rubbers, pigments, dyes, copy paper, caulking, and fluorescent light ballasts. PCBs were sold as mixtures of individual chlorinated compounds, referred to as congeners. In total, there are 209 configurations and degrees of chlorination, and therefore 209 different congeners. Because they were engineered to be stable, they do not readily break down in the environment, and may be transported long distances from sources, and cycle between air, water and soil. Toxicity varies among the congeners, but includes cancer, immune, reproductive, nervous and endocrine concerns.
Pesticides:
Pesticides include all types of chemicals that are designed to mitigate a “pest,” whether that is an insect, plant, rodent, bacteria, or fungus. Globally, most pesticides that are used are designed for plants, insects and fungi. Besides considering pesticides by intended targets, this class of chemicals may also be thought of by chemical groups such as organophosphates, organochlorines, or pyrethroids. Most of these classes are insecticides that affect the nervous system of the intended target, but in high concentrations from either inadequate disposal, use, or from leakage, any pesticide may affect off-target species including other plants, insects, or even humans. Pesticide toxicity for humans can range from minor skin or respiratory irritation to central nervous system malfunction.
Flame Retardants:
Flame retardants include several types of compound families, including polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), organophophorous flame retardants (OPFRs). Sources include manufacturing products that are designed to be flame resistant such as textiles, plastics, and wire insulation, as well as paints and products designed for buildings, boats, homes, aircraft or cars. While there are 209 congeners of PBDEs (similar to that of PCBs), OPFRs simply imply that these compounds are used as flame retardants and contain a phosphate group, and functional groups may be diverse. Human toxicological concern for PBDEs stems mainly from neurobehavioral effects, while ongoing research on OPFRs is focused on endocrine disrupting potentials of several individual compounds.