Exposure and Health Risk from Swimming in Outdoor Pools Contaminated by Trichloroethylene

Authors: James Blando¹; Perry Cohn²

Source: Human and Ecological Risk Assessment, Volume 10, Number 4, August 2004 , pp. 717-731(15)

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Abstract:

A method was developed that evaluated the exposure and health risk to children from swimming in outdoor pools filled with contaminated water. It was found that dermal absorption of trichloroethylene (TCE) was significantly larger than the inhalation component of the exposures. It was estimated that the inhalation route accounted for only 1% of the total exposure, whereas accidental ingestion was 7% of the child's total intake and the dermal absorbed dose was 92% of the total exposure. The relative percentage of the total exposure estimated for each exposure route indicated that the dermal exposure route and accidental ingestion of pool water should not be ignored for volatile compounds when evaluating exposure. The method utilized was simple enough to use computer spreadsheets for the calculations and can be easily adapted to various swimming scenarios and age groups. This method also included an assessment of the uncertainty in the exposure and risk estimates. The range of estimated exposures was 40 mgr

g to 442

g of TCE per swimming season. All values in this range were below the health benchmark for both non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic endpoints.

Keywords: swimming; pools; dermal; well water; trichloroethylene; TCE; children

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10807030490484183

Affiliations: 1: New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, Occupational Health Services, Trenton, New Jersey, USA 2: New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, Consumer and Environmental Health Service, Trenton, New Jersey, USA

Publication date: 2004-08-01