Human Exposure Analysis
Human exposure assessment is needed to quantify the risk from chemicals, since toxicological effects are related to a certain exposure level, i.e. the concentration of a chemical inside the body (risk theorem). Our research group investigates the exposure of humans to emerging chemicals, with special regard to exposures in our every-day life.
Humans can be exposed to chemicals through many different pathways. As consumers we use household products (such as cleaning agents, impregnation sprays, washing powder), personal care products (such as toothpaste, shower gel, make-up) and many other consumer goods containing and releasing a variety of chemicals. We wear chemically treated garments. We inhale chemicals present in the indoor air either in the gas phase or associated with suspended particulate matter. Inadvertently, we ingest small amounts of house dust, and we are consuming food that is processed in many different ways.
For most synthetic chemicals, exposure as well as toxicity levels are very low, resulting in a generally low risk. However, there are some chemicals suspected to have negative effects already at very low doses, e.g. some external pageplasticizers acting hormone-like, flame retardants (external pagePBDEs and other brominated molecules) and external pageperfluorinated surfactants having a high potential to bioaccumulate, the monomer external pageBisphenol A having estrogene-like effects, or external pagenanoparticles, which might pose a risk through yet unknown differences in substance properties in relation to their bulk counterparts.
Depending on the uses of a chemical, all the exposure pathways given above (and more) can contribute to the total exposure. As manifold information is needed to account for all pathways, most exposure assessments focus only on one important pathway thereby neglecting other important pathways of exposure.
