Table 1.

Common features of the chemicals.

Chemical	Routes and Sources of Exposure	Occupational Exposure	Vulnerable and High Exposure Risk Groups	Measurement Matrices
Pesticides [14,20,64]	Ingestion, inhalation, or dermal contact; general population is exposed through pesticide residues in food	Agricultural workers mixing and applying pesticides onto crops and handling the crops after treatment and workers applying biocides are exposed through inhalation and dermal contact	Vulnerable groups: infants, children, and pregnant women Risk groups: agriculture farm workers and pesticide applicators	Urine, blood/serum and hair; urine is better matrix than blood (except for organochlorines)
Cadmium (Cd) [14,27,28,65,66]	Ingestion and inhalation through air, water, and soil; general population is exposed through food, water, and tobacco smoke; foods: e.g., seafood, liver, kidney, wild mushrooms, flaxseed, coco powder, cereals, potatoes, and vegetables grown in contaminated soil	Workers in several industries are exposed through inhalation and soil	Vulnerable groups: individuals with iron deficiency, pregnant and postmenopausal women, new-borns, toddlers, and elderly Risk groups: smokers, vegetarians, overweight or obese people, people consuming large amounts of seafood, and industrial workers	Long-term accumulation/exposure (occupational or excessive exposure): urine Recent exposure: whole blood or red blood cells
Chromium (Cr) (VI) [14,37,38]	Ingestion and inhalation through air, water, and soil; general population is exposed through Cr-contaminated soil, food, and water, inhalation of ambient air, and smoking	Workers in several industries are exposed through breathing contaminated occupational air	Risk groups: children (e.g., toys) and adults (e.g., leather and cosmetics), industrial occupational groups (e.g., welding), and smokers	Measuring mostly done in occupational settings where Cr is evaluated in urine and plasma and Cr(VI) in red blood cells
Arsenic (As) [14,40]	Ingestion and inhalation through air, water, and soil; general population is exposed through ingestion via food, drinking water, and smoking	Workers in several industries are exposed through inhalation and dermal contact	Vulnerable groups: children Risk groups: industrial occupational groups in, e.g., gold mining, wood preservation, glass manufacturing, and smelting operations	Urine is a preferred measurement matrix; however, measurements of total As in urine do not show information of As species, sometimes measured from blood, even though inorganic and organic As have a short half-life in blood
Lead (Pb) [14,46,67,68]	Ingestion and inhalation through air, water, and soil; general population is exposed through inhalation of Pb particles, ingestion of Pb-contaminated dust, water, or food, and Pb in bone releases trans-placentally into blood during pregnancy	Workers in certain industrial occupations are exposed through inhalation	Vulnerable groups: children Risk groups: industrial occupational groups in, e.g., mining and smelting	Recent exposure: blood Long-term exposure: bone (skeleton) and teeth, bone-Pb is a better indicator than blood-Pb in some situations; significant associations between bone-Pb and diseases and adverse effects have been reported
Diisocyanates [14]	Ingestion and inhalation through air, water, and soil; general population is exposed through products containing diisocyanates, especially glues	Construction workers are exposed through inhalation, dermal contact, ingestion/gastrointestinal tract, and polyurethane foams	Risk groups: industrial occupational groups in, e.g., polyurethane manufacturing, welding, sawing, painting, and construction sector	Diisocyanate metabolites (diamines): urine, adduct analysis by using either albumin or haemoglobin adducts
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) [14,56,68]	Ingestion, inhalation, or dermal contact; general population is exposed through contaminated soil, water, and foods, vehicle emissions and transport, cigarette smoke, open burning, and food processing	Workers in several industries are exposed through inhalation of exhaust fumes	Vulnerable groups: children Risk groups: industrial occupational groups in, e.g., mining, metal, and oil refining, manufacture of plastics, dyes, and pesticides	PAHs and metabolites are measured mostly in urine