Exposure to substances by use of consumer products

Abstract

This chapter focuses on consumer product-related exposure issues. It covers all non-food products that can release chemical substances and consumers may come into contact with. They include, for example, products used inside and around the home for personal hygiene, home maintenance, do it yourself, automotive care, hobby and craft, leisure, playing, home office, pet care, home pesticides, furniture, clothing, and yard and garden maintenance. They are regulated by a number of different regulations (see the following subchapters). Consumer exposures to these products may be direct or indirect. As pointed out in Sect. 3.2.7, they can be characterised by the release of the agent from the source, the transport from the source to the target person (pathway of exposure), and the kind of contact (route of exposure). The release is determined by the chemical’s concentration in an item (consumer product), its properties (e.g. volatility), how it is bonded in the matrix, and what stressors (e.g. temperature, and mechanical activity by the user) are present. These conditions of exposure can be described in general terms in the exposure scenario and by subsequent iterations in a tiered approach. This chapter gives an overview about exposure assessment with regard to consumer products, separated into mixtures and articles. It also focuses on specific issues of exposure assessment with respect to (European) chemicals and cosmetic regulation. Further, this chapter addresses particular issues for exposure estimation of nanoparticles and sprays and aerosols, as well as secondary exposures from house dust.