Estimation of multi-route exposures to various chemicals during Children's clay toy use

Sohyun Kang; Kiyoung Lee; Miyoung Lim

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2022.113500

Estimation of multi-route exposures to various chemicals during Children's clay toy use

Environ Res. 2022 Sep;212(Pt D):113500. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.113500. Epub 2022 May 18.

Authors

Sohyun Kang¹, Kiyoung Lee², Miyoung Lim³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea.
² Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea; Institute of Health and Environment, Seoul National University. Seoul, South Korea.
³ Institute of Health and Environment, Seoul National University. Seoul, South Korea. Electronic address: me02me0@snu.ac.kr.

PMID: 35594962
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.113500

Abstract

Clay toys have been used as play materials and educational tools for children. Clay toys exhibit adherent properties, and may facilitate chemical ingestion via dermal absorption and oral (hand-to-mouth, HTM) exposures. Inhalation exposure also be considered when contain volatile chemicals. The purpose of this study was to estimate the exposure dose for chemicals in clay toys via three exposure routes, and to evaluate the relationship between the exposure contribution of each route considering both the chemical properties and children's age. Chemical analysis was conducted for 9 semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), 17 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and 7 metal elements in clay toys (n = 66) purchased from Korean market. Exposure factors for usage pattern of clay toys were conducted based on a nationally representative survey in Korea. A total of 12,144 (60.7%) children responded positively to playing with clay toys. Exposure to SVOCs and VOCs in clay toys via HTM, inhalation, and dermal absorption were estimated. The exposure level was the highest in styrene with 5.2 × 10^-3 mg/kg-bw/day (95th percentile population), which was approximately 13% of the acceptable daily dose for styrene. In 3-year-old children, dermal absorption route contributed the highest at 59.2-100%. Chemicals with higher octanol-water partition coefficient (K_ow) had the greater the contribution of the dermal absorption route and the weaker the contribution of the HTM route. In infants (0-2 years), the contribution via HTM exposure was higher than that in the other age groups. The contribution of inhalation exposure differed depending on the volatility of the chemicals. Furthermore, the exposure route contribution significantly differed due to age-dependent behavioral changes in children. These results suggest that the exposure assessments for children could be considered with multiple exposure routes related to chemical properties.

Keywords: Clay toy; Dermal route exposure; Hand-to-mouth behavior; Inhalation route exposure; Oral route exposure.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Child, Preschool
Clay
Environmental Exposure / analysis
Humans
Infant
Inhalation Exposure / analysis
Play and Playthings
Styrenes / analysis
Volatile Organic Compounds* / analysis

Substances

Styrenes
Volatile Organic Compounds
Clay