title: Assessment of human exposure to environmental sources of nickel in Europe: Inhalation exposure.
abstract: The paper describes the inhalation nickel (Ni) exposure of humans via the environment for the regional scale in the EU, together with a tiered approach for assessing additional local exposure from industrial emissions. The approach was designed, in the context of REACH, for the purpose of assessing and controlling emissions and air quality in the neighbourhood of Ni producers and downstream users. Two Derived No Effect Level (DNEL) values for chronic inhalation exposure to total Ni in PM10 (20 and 60ngNi/m(3)) were considered. The value of 20ngNi/m(3) is the current EU air quality guidance value. The value of 60ngNi/m(3) is derived here based on recently published Ni data (Oller et al., 2014). Both values are protective for respiratory toxicity and carcinogenicity but differ in the application of toxicokinetic adjustments and cancer threshold considerations. Estimates of air Ni concentrations at the European regional scale were derived from the database of the European Environment Agency. The 50th and 90th percentile regional exposures were below both DNEL values. To assess REACH compliance at the local scale, measured ambient air data are preferred but are often unavailable. A tiered approach for the use of modelled ambient air concentrations was developed, starting with the application of the default EUSES model and progressing to more sophisticated models. As an example, the tiered approach was applied to 33 EU Ni sulphate producers' and downstream users' sites. Applying the EUSES model demonstrates compliance with a DNEL of 60ngNi/m(3) for the majority of sites, while the value of the refined modelling is demonstrated when a DNEL of 20ngNi/m(3) is considered. The proposed approach, applicable to metals in general, can be used in the context of REACH, for refining the risk characterisation and guiding the selection of risk management measures.
authors: Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, Belgium. Electronic address: jurgen.buekers@vito.be.
authors: Jurgen
authors: J
authors: Buekers
authors: Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, Belgium.
authors: Katleen
authors: K
authors: De Brouwere
authors: Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, Belgium.
authors: Wouter
authors: W
authors: Lefebvre
authors: Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, Belgium.
authors: Hanny
authors: H
authors: Willems
authors: ARCHE (Assessing Risks of Chemicals) Consulting, Stapelplein 70, 9000 Gent, Belgium.
authors: Marleen
authors: M
authors: Vandenbroele
authors: ARCHE (Assessing Risks of Chemicals) Consulting, Stapelplein 70, 9000 Gent, Belgium.
authors: Patrick
authors: P
authors: Van Sprang
authors: ARCHE (Assessing Risks of Chemicals) Consulting, Stapelplein 70, 9000 Gent, Belgium.
authors: Maxime
authors: M
authors: Eliat-Eliat
authors: University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue W, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada.
authors: Keegan
authors: K
authors: Hicks
authors: NiPERA, 2525 Meridian Parkway, Suite 240, Durham, NC 27713, USA.
authors: Christian E
authors: CE
authors: Schlekat
authors: NiPERA, 2525 Meridian Parkway, Suite 240, Durham, NC 27713, USA.
authors: Adriana R
authors: AR
authors: Oller
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D019570:Inhalation Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009532:Nickel / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D009532:Nickel
keywords: DNEL; Dosimetric; Inhalation; Modelling; Nickel; REACH