Abstract
This publication serves as a global comprehensive resource for readers seeking exposure factor data and information relevant to consumer exposure assessment. It describes the types of information that may be found in various official surveys and online and published resources. The relevant exposure factors cover a broad range, including general exposure factor data found in published compendia and databases and resources about specific exposure factors, such as human activity patterns and housing information. Also included are resources on exposure factors related to specific types of consumer products and the associated patterns of use, such as for a type of personal care product or a type of children’s toy. Further, a section on using exposure factors for designing representative exposure scenarios is included, along with a look into the future for databases and other exposure science developments relevant for consumer exposure assessment.
Highlights
Assessing consumer product-related exposures has been of global interest and effort for several decades, with many key moments of progress, such as the publication of the U.S EPA’s first edition of the “Exposure Factors Handbook” in 1989 and the multi-organizational global effort to publish the seminal sourcebook on residential exposure assessment in 2001 [1,2]
The cause of the high level of interest is reflected in a recent report from the U.S National Academy of Sciences Committee on Human and Environmental Exposure Science in the 21st Century (NRC, 2012), which begins with: “We are exposed every day to agents that have the potential to affect our health—through the personal products we use, the water we drink, the food we eat, and the soil and surfaces we touch, and the air we breathe.” [141]
Efforts to provide information resources have tried to keep pace with the needs, with early noteworthy efforts being the U.S EPA’s work to compile the first edition of the “Exposure Factors Handbook” in 1989 and enhanced by the addition in 1997 of chapters on consumer products and housing characteristics and the 2002 release of the “Child-Specific Exposure Factors Handbook”. Both documents have been combined in the 2011 edition of the EFH; these and other updates by the EPA’s Exposure Factors Program can be found at its home page
Summary
Assessing consumer product-related exposures has been of global interest and effort for several decades, with many key moments of progress, such as the publication of the U.S EPA’s first edition of the “Exposure Factors Handbook” in 1989 and the multi-organizational global effort to publish the seminal sourcebook on residential exposure assessment in 2001 [1,2]. Worldwide interest in conducting scientifically-relevant exposure and risk assessments for chemicals found in consumer products underscores the need for increased access to informational resources for understanding the key determinants of exposure based on product use characteristics and consumer behavior. Exposure factors relevant for consumer (or residential) exposure assessment cover a broad range, from general physiological parameters, such as inhalation rate or skin surface area, to product-specific use behaviors, to parameters that help characterize the indoor environment. Given the range in time period and population geography spanned in the studies cited, considerations as to the likelihood of regional or temporal variation in a particular exposure factor should be taken into account when applying the study data (hyperlinks to the identified resources when available are included within the text; a compiled list of these links is provided in Supplemental Materials Table S1)
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