Vitale, C.M., Price, E.J., Miller, G.W., David, A., Antignac, J.-P., Barouki, R. and Klánová, J. (2021) ‘Analytical strategies for chemical exposomics: Exploring limits and feasibility’, Exposome, 1, osab003. https://doi.org/10.1093/exposome/osab003.

Exposure is not a substance that instruments retrieve intact from the world. Vitale and colleagues examine the analytical conventions of chemical exposomics, especially high-resolution mass-spectrometric workflows, and compare alternative chromatographic and sampling strategies against sensitivity, coverage, reproducibility, throughput, expertise and cost. Their review shows that commonly adopted separations privilege particular chemical ranges while potentially informative alternatives remain underused. Its distinctive contribution is the treatment of analytical coverage as a designed and resource-dependent boundary, rather than the neutral limit of available science. Low-cost methodological alterations can improve detection, but combining workflows also creates requirements for calibration, processing and quality assurance. The article does not measure street-level urban exposure or establish effects on inhabitants. Its relevance to spatial research is epistemological: a neighbourhood sensor, laboratory assay and self-reported encounter are different instruments with distinct detectable worlds. An archive must retain methods and detection limits alongside any quantity that travels into comparative claims.