Epidemiologic analyses, traditionally based on long-term cohort or case-control studies, provide retrospective causal associations between exposure to a particular environmental stressor and an exposure-related disease end point. Recent research initiatives have propelled a shift toward exploring molecular epidemiology and molecular biological markers (biomarkers) as a means of providing more immediate, quantitative risk assessment of potentially deleterious environmental exposures. We compared, in normal human monocytes isolated from the blood of healthy donors, variations in Hsp70 expression and mitochondrial membrane potential (delta psi m) in response to exposure to either tobacco smoke or gamma-irradiation, two models for environmentally mediated oxidant exposure. On the basis of its mechanistic specificity for oxidants and little baseline variation in cells from distinct individuals, we propose that delta psi m represents a selective in vitro and in vivo biomarker for oxidant exposure. delta psi m may be used to gauge risks associated with oxidant-mediated air pollution and radiation.