| Abstract |
Dermal exposure can be an important pathway in environmental health risk assessments. Exposure can occur from working or playing in contaminated water, soil, or sediment or from contact with treated or contaminated surfaces indoors or outdoors. Not surprisingly there are numerous activities and events where dermal exposure can occur and a number of methods and models have been developed to estimate this route of exposure. Agency programs evaluate intentional and incidental dermal exposure for the general public and in some cases for workers based on various regulatory mandates and activities. The Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) considers dermal exposure for pesticide application to pesticide workers and to consumers. The Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) considers dermal exposure for consumer products containing high volume use chemicals and to chemical production workers for production of new chemicals. The Office of Water (OW) assesses dermal exposure to organic compounds during bathing, and the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) deals with dermal exposure to workers for hazardous waste site cleanup and to residents for incidental contact with chemically contaminated water, soil, and sediment from these sites. The National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) conducts research to improve exposure and risk assessment methods, models, and guidance. Dermal exposure projects are being conducted for identification of the chemical and physical properties of soil that affect chemical movement from soil to skin, development of mechanistic models for dermal penetration of contaminants in water and soil, and evaluation of in vitro dermal absorption test methods, in particular those for analysis of highly lipophilic compounds. |
