Abstract
Skin adherence (SA) of soil affects exposure from soil contaminants through dermal routes via loading on the skin and through ingestion routes through hand to mouth activities. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the relationships between adherence versus child-specific and environmental factors. Two sets of soil-to-skin adherence were evaluated. The first was based on loading on hands following hand presses (Hand SA). The second was based on body rinses following one hour of play activities on the beach (Body SA). Results for 98–119 children conducted at four beach sites show that mean Hand SA was 35.7 mg/cm2 (std. dev. 41.8 mg/cm2), while Body SA based on full coverage was 352.3 mg/cm2 (std. dev. 250.4 mg/cm2). Statistically significant differences in Body SA were observed between male (419.2 mg/cm2) and female (300.4 mg/cm2) children (p < 0.05). No significant difference by sex was found for Hand SA. Other statistically different observations were that Hand SA (p < 0.05), but not Body SA, differed across the four beaches (p < 0.05). For Hand SA, this difference was associated soil size variability across the beaches. Hand and Body SA values measured during this study are recommended for use in risk assessments that evaluate beach exposures to oil spill chemicals for young children.
Highlights
Introduction and BackgroundChildren, compared to adults, are more vulnerable to adverse environmental exposures for a number of reasons
We estimate the soil-to-skin adherence based on two measures: (1) Loading on hands following hand presses and, (2) body rinses following one hour of play activities on the beach, where we looked at the effect of age, gender, sunscreen and other variables on these soil-to-skin adherence values
Other variables were explored for their effect on Skin adherence (SA) and include the last location and last activity of the child as observed in the video and the clothing worn by the child
Summary
Children, compared to adults, are more vulnerable to adverse environmental exposures for a number of reasons. The unique ways in which they interact with their environment may mean they receive a higher dose of toxicant for a given level of environmental contamination compared to adults. They consume more food and water and have higher inhalation rates per pound of body weight than adults. Young children play close to the ground and come into contact with contaminated soil outdoors and with contaminated dust on surfaces and carpets indoors [1]. Studies show that children display unique activity patterns during their play activities, such as frequent hand and. Public Health 2020, 17, 4196; doi:10.3390/ijerph17124196 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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