title: EPHECT I: European household survey on domestic use of consumer products and development of worst-case scenarios for daily use.
abstract: Consumer products are frequently and regularly used in the domestic environment. Realistic estimates for product use are required for exposure modelling and health risk assessment. This paper provides significant data that can be used as input for such modelling studies. A European survey was conducted, within the framework of the DG Sanco-funded EPHECT project, on the household use of 15 consumer products. These products are all-purpose cleaners, kitchen cleaners, floor cleaners, glass and window cleaners, bathroom cleaners, furniture and floor polish products, combustible air fresheners, spray air fresheners, electric air fresheners, passive air fresheners, coating products for leather and textiles, hair styling products, spray deodorants and perfumes. The analysis of the results from the household survey (1st phase) focused on identifying consumer behaviour patterns (selection criteria, frequency of use, quantities, period of use and ventilation conditions during product use). This can provide valuable input to modelling studies, as this information is not reported in the open literature. The above results were further analysed (2nd phase), to provide the basis for the development of 'most representative worst-case scenarios' regarding the use of the 15 products by home-based population groups (housekeepers and retired people), in four geographical regions in Europe. These scenarios will be used for the exposure and health risk assessment within the EPHECT project. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time that daily worst-case scenarios are presented in the scientific published literature concerning the use of a wide range of 15 consumer products across Europe.
authors.affiliation: Mechanical Engineering Dept., University of West Macedonia, 50100 Kozani, Greece; Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards, Public Health England, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, OX11 0RQ, UK. Electronic address: Sani.Dimitroulopoulou@phe.gov.uk.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dimitroulopoulou
authors.affiliation: IPSOS, 1410 Waterloo, Belgium.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lucica
authors.affiliation: IPSOS, 1410 Waterloo, Belgium.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Stockholm Environment Institute, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK.
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Ashmore
authors.affiliation: Mechanical Engineering Dept., University of West Macedonia, 50100 Kozani, Greece.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sakellaris
authors.affiliation: Environmental Risk and Health Unit, VITO, 2400 Mol, Belgium.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stranger
authors.affiliation: Environmental Risk and Health Unit, VITO, 2400 Mol, Belgium.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Goelen
mesh_terms: D058735:Environmental Policy; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D005060:Europe; D006795:Household Products / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants
keywords: Consumer products; Household survey; Housekeepers; Product use; Retired people