title: Dermal exposure assessment in occupational medicine.
abstract: The importance of dermal exposure has increased during the last few years, mainly because of the reduction of respiratory exposure to toxicants. Pesticides, aromatic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are considered to be the chemicals at highest dermal risk. In the occupational exposure limit lists of the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) and of many countries, compounds that can be absorbed through the skin are identified by a skin notation. However, a generally accepted criterion for assigning skin notation does not exist. The recent attempts to develop health-based dermal occupational exposure limits (DOELs) have not been accepted, thus in practice their use has remained limited. To predict the systemic risk associated with dermal exposure and to enable agencies to set safety standards, penetration data are needed. Moreover, there is a need for a practical risk assessment model, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises.
authors.affiliation: Occupational Medicine Institute, University of Siena, Italy. sartorelli@unisi.it
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sartorelli
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D005060:Europe; D015386:Hazardous Substances / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D006801:Humans; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000592:standards*; D016272:Occupational Health; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012869:Skin Absorption / Q000502:physiology*; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D015386:Hazardous Substances