The Application of Specific Consumer Exposure Determinants (SCEDs) to Refine Consumer Exposure Estimates

摘要

An assessment of the potential risks to consumer health is required under the EU REACH Regulation when a registered substance is classified as hazardous. All known consumer uses of the substance must be assessed and consequently the ECETOC Targeted Risk Assessment tool was developed as a high throughput, lower tier risk assessment tool for REACH. The tool provides conservative estimates of consumer exposure which can be further refined by the application of SCEDS, if required. SCEDs have been developed for a number of product categories by sectors such as AISE (International Association for Soaps, Detergents and Maintenance Products). The SCEDs contain habits and practices data that can be incorporated directly into the ECETOC TRA algorithms to provide more realistic exposure estimates. They also serve to provide a harmonised source of generalised, consumer exposure information in a transparent and user-friendly manner. Application of SCEDS results in refined exposure estimates which are still exaggerated when compared to the exposure estimates from higher tier models. An example is provided for non-aerosol, continuous action Air Care products. Adult inhalation exposure to these products was approximately 20-fold lower using the SCEDS when compared to the ECETOC TRA. However, the inherent conservatism of the SCEDs was demonstrated when exposure was compared to estimates from the higher tier, RIFM 2-Box Air Dispersion Model. Inhalation exposure using the 2-box model was a further 13-fold lower than the value calculated with the SCEDs. The use of SCEDS provides a convenient, easy to use, scientific-based refinement for the ECETOC TRA model.