Exposures to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are of increasing concern. Assessments typically focus only on ingestion and inhalation exposure due to a lack of generally accepted approaches for estimating dermal absorption. Prior work indicates limited dermal absorption of ionic PFAS, but absorption of neutral PFAS has not been examined from the liquid vehicle or from vapor.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFirefighter turnout gear is essential for reducing occupational exposure to hazardous chemicals during training and fire events. Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are observed in firefighter serum, and possible occupational sources include the air and dust of fires, aqueous film-forming foam, and turnout gear. Limited data exist for nonvolatile and volatile PFASs on firefighter turnout gear and the disposition of fluorine on the individual layers of turnout gear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImplementation of probabilistic analyses in exposure assessment can provide valuable insight into the risks of those at the extremes of population distributions, including more vulnerable or sensitive subgroups. Incorporation of these analyses into current regulatory methods for occupational pesticide exposure is enabled by the exposure data sets and associated data currently used in the risk assessment approach of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Monte Carlo simulations were performed on exposure measurements from the Agricultural Handler Exposure Database and the Pesticide Handler Exposure Database along with data from the Exposure Factors Handbook and other sources to calculate exposure rates for three different neurotoxic compounds (azinphos methyl, acetamiprid, emamectin benzoate) across four pesticide-handling scenarios.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn vitro assessments of C-benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) absorption through human epidermis were conducted with the sub-63-μm fraction of four test soils containing different amounts of organic and black carbon. Soils were artificially weathered for eight weeks and applied to epidermis at nominal BaP concentrations of 3 and 10 mg/kg for 8 or 24 h. Experiments were also conducted at 24 h with unweathered soils and with BaP deposited onto skin from acetone at a comparable chemical load.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe application of quantitative microbial risk assessments (QMRAs) to understand and mitigate risks associated with norovirus is increasingly common as there is a high frequency of outbreaks worldwide. A key component of QMRA is the dose-response analysis, which is the mathematical characterization of the association between dose and outcome. For Norovirus, multiple dose-response models are available that assume either a disaggregated or an aggregated intake dose.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis article reviews the state of the science regarding oral bioavailability, bioaccessibility, and dermal absorption of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (cPAHs) in soil by humans, and discusses how chemical interactions may control the extent of absorption. Derived from natural and anthropomorphic origins, PAHs occur in a limited number of solid and fluid matrices (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol
August 2014
A common dermal exposure assessment strategy estimates the systemic uptake of chemical in contact with skin using the fixed fractional absorption approach: the dermal absorbed dose is estimated as the product of exposure and the fraction of applied chemical that is absorbed, assumed constant for a given chemical. Despite the prominence of this approach there is little guidance regarding the evaluation of experiments from which fractional absorption data are measured. An analysis of these experiments is presented herein, and limitations to the fixed fractional absorption approach are discussed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe results of dermal absorption experiments are routinely and often exclusively reported in terms of fractional absorption. However, fractional absorption is not generally independent of skin loading conditions. As a consequence, experimental outcomes are commonly misinterpreted.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol
February 2009
Risk assessment of hazardous wastes sites may require characterization of the dermal availability of chemical contaminants in soil and/or sediment. Current U.S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Exposure to organophosphate (OP) pesticides is an occupational hazard for farmworkers and affects their children through the take-home pathway.
Objectives: We examined the effectiveness of a randomized community intervention to reduce pesticide exposure among farmworkers and their children.
Methods: We conducted a baseline survey of a cross-sectional sample of farmworkers (year 1) in 24 participating communities.
Multiple research teams have reported data from in vivo human trials in which breath was monitored during and after whole-body or partial immersion in aqueous solutions of volatile organic compounds. Estimation of total dermal absorption from exhaled breath measurements requires modeling, a task to which physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models have often been applied. In the context of PBPK models, the exposed skin compartment can be modeled in many different ways.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe examined findings from five organophosphorus pesticide biomonitoring studies conducted in Washington State between 1994 and 1999. We compared urinary dimethylthiophosphate (DMTP) concentrations for all study groups and composite dimethyl alkylphosphate (DMAP) concentrations for selected groups. Children of pesticide applicators had substantially higher metabolite levels than did Seattle children and farmworker children (median DMTP, 25 microg/L; p < 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol
September 2005
Dermal contact with sediment is sometimes identified as a pathway of concern in risk assessments. Dermal exposure to sediment is poorly characterized and exposure assessors may rely on default soil adherence values. The purpose of this study was to obtain sediment adherence data for a genuine exposure scenario, child play in a tide flat.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnvironmental measurements of organophosphorus (OP) pesticides were conducted in the homes of 13 children, who lived either in the Seattle metropolitan area or in the agricultural region of Washington State, to ascertain exposure through multiple pathways. Each home was sampled for two 24-h periods during two seasons, summer and fall. Samples included 24-h indoor air, drinking water, soil, house dust, and hand and toy wipes and 24-h duplicate diets.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA total organophosphorus pesticide exposure study was conducted in Washington State in 1998 in a sample population of 13 children aged 2.5-5.5 years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLead arsenate (PbHAsO4) was used as an insecticide in Washington fruit orchards from 1905 to 1947. We examined exposure potential for children living in an agricultural community with historic PbHAsO4 use. Soil and housedust samples were collected from 58 residences.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe examined the effect of the 14-day agricultural restricted entry period on absorbed pesticide doses in a group of twenty experienced apple thinners. Thinners entered orchards 1-49 days following azinphosmethyl applications. Urine samples (n=296) collected throughout the thinning season were analyzed for the three dialkylphosphate metabolites of azinphosmethyl to estimate absorbed daily doses.
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