title: Estimating the sensory irritating potency of airborne nonreactive volatile organic chemicals and their mixtures.
abstract: This article describes the possibility of estimating whether or not a mixture of nonreactive volatile organic chemicals (NRVOC) is likely to elicit complaints of sensory irritation in humans. For this estimation we rely on: a) the sensory irritating potency of individual NRVOC can be estimated from a variety of physicochemical properties of these chemicals, b) at low exposure concentrations, the additivity rule can be applied using the potency of each chemical in a mixture and c) a threshold concentration exists below which no sensory irritation will occur. We used this estimating approach and we compared the results obtained with those obtained experimentally in humans exposed to a well defined mixture. The approach presented can be used to arrive at a decision as to whether or not exposure to a mixture of NRVOC is likely to result in sensory irritation complaints by humans, either in the general indoor air situation or for industrial workers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15238, USA.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Alarie
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schaper
authors.forename: G D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Abraham
mesh_terms: D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor; D000818:Animals; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D006801:Humans; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D007509:Irritants / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D007928:Lethal Dose 50; D051379:Mice; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012869:Skin Absorption / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D014835:Volatilization
chemical_list: D006838:Hydrocarbons; D007509:Irritants