Exposure Work
Update on ESIG Exposure Tools
ESIG recently updated its Generic Exposure Scenarios (GES) for Industrial Workers, both in Chesar and Excel format. The updated files are available on the ESIG website, and the ECHA use maps library.
This update is part of the annual activity. We aim to continuously improve the alignment of the GES with the Downstream Users’ use maps and ensure consistency between the exposure scenarios.
The ESVOC Overview Use Map template was also updated to reflect the changes and some industrial use corrections, and the addition of a contributing activity for Use at industrial sites (CS11-11 General exposures (closed systems)).
For our Generic Exposure Scenarios (GES) Risk and Exposure Tool for consumer exposure, known as “EGRET”, communication issues between the EGRET master file and the CSA block files have been resolved. EGRET assists you with your REACH chemical safety assessments of solvents for selected consumer uses. We will develop soon updated training material, so stay tuned!
Outlook: Robot Study
Under the lead of the LOA (Lower Olefins and Aromatics) REACH Consortium, and together with the Long-Range Research Initiative (LRI) of the American Chemistry Council (ACC), ESIG is proud to participate in an innovative approach toward generating exposure data.
This new project proposes to investigate the utility of robotics for generating realistic exposure values that can be confidently used in refining consumer chemical safety assessments for solvents.
In the end, measured exposure (i.e., air concentration) data may help address the potential issue of non-compliance in REACH dossiers. However, for consumer exposure scenarios, the data typically does not exist or is resource intensive to generate using traditional approaches (e.g. human volunteer studies). Alternative methods employing robots programmed to perform simple tasks in exposure monitoring projects have been recently developed and proven helpful for estimating consumer exposure (Feld-Cook et al., 2021).
LOA has contracted with the University of Texas (UT) at Austin and Chemistry and Industrial Hygiene Inc. (C&IH, Arvada, Colorado) to perform a set of exposure monitoring studies using robots to simulate the human application of paints containing solvents. The paint application and exposure monitoring will be conducted in environmentally controlled and monitored test chambers.
The project is currently being finalised contract and resource wise, and the laboratory activities are expected to be completed by fall 2023.
