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Estimating mouthing exposure to chemicals in children’s products

  • Nicolo Aurisano
  • , Peter Fantke*
  • , Lei Huang
  • , Olivier Jolliet
  • *Corresponding author for this work
  • University of Michigan
  • University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

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Abstract

Background
Existing models for estimating children’s exposure to chemicals through mouthing currently depends on the availability of chemical- and material-specific experimental migration rates, only covering a few dozen chemicals.

Objective
This study objective is hence to develop a mouthing exposure model to predict migration into saliva, mouthing exposure, and related health risk from a wide range of chemical-material combinations in children’s products.

Methods
We collected experimental data on chemical migration from different products into saliva for multiple substance groups and materials, identifying chemical concentration and diffusion coefficient as main properties of influence. To predict migration rates into saliva, we adapted a previously developed migration model for chemicals in food packaging materials. We also developed a regression model based on identified chemical and material properties.

Results
Our migration predictions correlate well with experimental data (R2 = 0.85) and vary widely from 8 × 10−7 to 32.7 µg/10 cm2/min, with plasticizers in PVC showing the highest values. Related mouthing exposure doses vary across chemicals and materials from a median of 0.005 to 253 µg/kgBW/d. Finally, we combined exposure estimates with toxicity information to yield hazard quotients and identify chemicals of concern for average and upper bound mouthing behavior scenarios.

Significance
The proposed model can be applied for predicting migration rates for hundreds of chemical-material combinations to support high-throughput screening.
Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology
Volume32
Pages (from-to)94–102
Number of pages9
ISSN1559-0631
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  1. SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
    SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

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