US EPA

EPA announced the availability of the final report, Child-Specific Exposure Scenarios Examples. This report is intended to be a companion document to the Exposure Factors Handbook (U.S. EPA 2011). The example scenarios were compiled from questions and inquiries received from users of the Exposure Factors Handbook (EFH) on how to select data from the EFH to assess childhood exposures. The scenarios presented in this report promote the use of the standard set of age groups recommended by the U.S. EPA in the report entitled Guidance on Selecting Age Groups for Monitoring and Assessing Childhood Exposures to Environmental Contaminants (U.S. EPA 2005).

The purpose of the Child-Specific Exposure Scenarios Examples Report is to outline scenarios for various child-specific exposure pathways and to demonstrate how data from the EFH may be applied for estimating dose. The handbook provides data on drinking water consumption, soil ingestion, mouthing behavior, inhalation rates, dermal factors including skin area and soil adherence factors, consumption of fruits and vegetables, fish, meats, dairy products, homegrown foods, human milk, activity patterns, body weight, and consumer products.

The example scenarios presented here have been selected to best demonstrate the use of the various key data sets in the EFH, and represent commonly encountered childhood exposure pathways. An exhaustive review of every possible exposure scenario for every possible receptor population would not be feasible and is not provided. Instead, readers may use the representative examples provided here to formulate scenarios that are appropriate to the assessment of interest, and apply the same or similar data sets and approaches as shown in the examples.

The purpose of the Child-Specific Exposure Scenarios Examples Report is to outline scenarios for various child-specific exposure pathways and to demonstrate how data from the Exposure Factors Handbook (U.S. EPA, 2011) may be applied for estimating exposures. The handbook provides data on drinking water consumption, soil ingestion, mouthing behavior, inhalation rates, dermal factors including skin area and soil adherence factors, consumption of fruits and vegetables, fish, meats, dairy products, homegrown foods, human milk, activity patterns, body weight, and consumer products. The example scenarios presented here have been selected to best demonstrate the use of the various key data sets in the Child-Specific Exposure Factors Handbook (U.S. EPA, 2008a), and represent commonly encountered exposure pathways. An exhaustive review of every possible exposure scenario for every possible receptor population would not be feasible and is not provided. Instead, readers may use the representative examples provided here to formulate scenarios that are appropriate to the assessment of interest, and apply the same or similar data sets and approaches as shown in the examples.

U.S. EPA. Child-Specific Exposure Scenarios Examples (Final Report). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-14-217F, 2014.