The exposome has been defined as the totality of exposure individuals experience over their lives and how those exposures affect health. Three domains of the exposome have been identified: internal, specific external and general external. Internal factors are those that are unique to the individual; and specific external factors include occupational exposures and lifestyle factors. The general external domain includes factors such as education level and financial status. Eliciting the exposome is daunting and at present not feasible and may never be fully realized. A variety of tools has been identified to measure the exposome. Biomarker measurements will be one of the major tools in exposomic studies. However, exposure data can also be obtained from other sources such as sensors, geographic information systems and conventional tools such as survey instruments. Proof of concept studies are being conducted that show the promise of the exposomic investigation and the integration of different kinds of data. The inherent value of exposomic data in epidemiologic studies is that they can provide greater understanding of the relationships among a broad range of chemical and other risk factors and diseases and ultimately lead to more effective and efficient prevention and control.

This study examines the patterns and trends in noise exposure documented in data collected by Mine Safety and Health Administration inspectors at U.S. coal mines from 1987 through 2004. During this period, MSHA issued a new regulation on occupational noise exposure that changed the regulatory requirements and enforcement policies. The data were examined to identify potential impacts from these changes. The overall annual median noise dose declined 67% for surface coal mining and 24% for underground coal mining, and the reduction in each group accelerated after promulgation of the new noise rule. However, not all mining occupations experienced a decrease. The exposure reduction was accompanied by an increase of shift length as represented by dosimeter sample duration. For coal miners exposed above the permissible exposure level, use of hearing protection devices increased from 61% to 89% during this period. Participation of miners exposed at or above the action level in hearing conservation programs rapidly reached 86% following the effective date of the noise rule. Based on inspection data, the occupational noise regulation appears to be having a strong positive impact on hearing conservation by reducing exposures and increasing the use of hearing protection devices and medical surveillance. However, the increase in shift duration and resulting reduction in recovery time may mitigate the gains somewhat.

Noise exposures in manufacturing have been reduced since the late 1970s, except those documented by federal enforcement. Noise exposure data outside manufacturing is not well represented in IMIS.