Environmental Health in Israel | 2014

Research on Human Biomonitoring in Israel There are numerous epidemiological studies currently underway in Israel employing biomonitoring for exposure assessment, including studies on the health effects of organophosphate pesticides, phthalates, heavy metals, ETS, brominated flame retardants, and BPA.  Researchers at the MoH and Ben-Gurion University are using biomarkers of heavy metals exposure, and examining exposure to environmental factors such as industry and home environment, to study risk of congenital anomalies in infants born to Arab-Bedouin women in southern Israel.  Researchers at the MoH and at Ben-Gurion University are examining the effects of air pollution on cell proliferation as an indicator of subclinical pathology in fetuses of 210 Arab-Bedouin women in southern Israel.  Researchers at the Hebrew University Center of Excellence in Agriculture and Environmental Health are using biomarkers to study the effects of organophosphate pesticides on male reproductive health and birth outcomes, as well as the effects of BPA, phthalates, and genistein on birth outcomes.  Researchers at Hebrew University–Hadassah, Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, and Mount Sinai Hospital, NY are using biomarkers to study exposures to phthalates and ETS in children.  Researchers at Hebrew University–Hadassah are using biomarkers (POPs in serum) to explore risk factors for non-Hodgkins lymphoma in Palestinian and Israeli adults.  Researchers at Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, and Columbia University, NY are using biomarkers to measure exposures to brominated flame retardants (polybrominated diethyl ethers and hexabromocyclododecane) and phthalates in mother–infant pairs and the effects on birth outcomes and thyroid function.  Researchers at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center are measuring exposure to nano-particles in Exhaled Breath Condensate, and effects in asthmatic vs. non-asthmatic children.  Researchers at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center are using biomarkers to explore differences in exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in residents of an organic food/vegan community in northern Israel (Amirim).  Researchers at the Hebrew University Center of Excellence in Agriculture and Environmental Health are evaluating the presence of dialkyl phosphates in edible crops and estimating exposure to organophosphate pesticides considering exposure to both parent compounds and their metabolites. Progress and Challenges  Data collected in human biomonitoring studies conducted by the MoH from 2010 to 2013 have implications for public health policy. Data on decreasing levels of POPs in breast milk were instrumental in showing that restrictions on use of agricultural and industrial chemicals in Israel were useful in reducing exposures in the general population. Data on relatively high Environmental Health in Israel 2014  Chapter 8 - 60 -