Canada's Exposure Toolbox: Resources and Tools Used to Characterize Consumer Exposure in Human Health Risk Assessments Conducted under Canada's Chemicals Management Program

摘要

The general population can be exposed to chemical substances present or released from consumer products every day. Since the launch of the Canada's Chemicals Management Plan (CMP) in 2006, over 3000 substances have been assessed in approximately 260 published assessment reports, more than 50% of which include a quantitative assessment on exposure of the general population from the use of consumer products. This presentation will describe Canada's exposure toolbox, with a focus on exposures from consumer products, covering resources and tools used for problem formulation, exposure source identification, and exposure estimation using modelling, measurement and/or biomonitoring data. Web-based automated tools for exposure data gathering will be highlighted. An exposure-oriented problem formulation database, used primarily for assessment prioritization, grouping and initial information gathering on exposure potential, will be introduced. Various in-house exposure databases and guidance documents will also be presented, including personal care products and cosmetics, dermal absorption, product migration, cleaning products, mouthing exposure, as well as models typically used in deriving consumer product exposure estimates. Case studies will be presented on human exposure to chemicals via various product uses, including children's exposure through post-application and/or mouthing behaviour. The case studies will highlight the use of the toolbox in regulatory decision making and priority setting for chemical substances manufactured, used or imported into Canada. Through the illustrative case studies, we will also discuss uncertainties and challenges encountered within the context of regulatory risk assessment, such as data availability, combined exposure to multiple chemicals, and model validation.