Identification and Evaluation of Waterborne Routes of Exposure from Other Than Food and Drinking Water

摘要

The purposes of the report were to identify major human exposure routes (other than food and drinking water) for waterborne pollutants; to develop a methodological framework for establishing the significance of these routes for quantifying the risks to humans associated with these routes; and to incorporate this framework into a risk assessment methodology and test its usefulness for risk assessments of chlordane and heptachlor. Inhalation of vapors from polluted water and absorption of pollutants through the skin during direct contact with water were chosen as the most significant alternative exposure routes for consideration in the report. Seventeen exposure activities (bathing, dishwashing, etc.) in personal, recreational, and household categories were identified. Estimates for these activities were made of average daily exposure by inhalation or skin absorption routes, exposure extent, and total national yearly exposure, with subpopulations identified by age, sex, and geographic location in several cases. Calculations for chlordane and heptachlor showed inhalation to be negligible compared to other intakes, but for chlordane, skin absorption may be a significant exposure route.